Thursday 30 April 2020

The Problem With NY Cancelling the 'Primary'

Here's the thing....the normal primary would have occurred on 23 June.  So what the state has said....there is NOT to be a presidential primary vote.  There will just be a mail-in/absentee ballot for all other offices.

The fact that you could have included both the Republican and Democratic Presidential vote in this primary?  That seems lost at this point.

If you were in the state and had paid attention to all of those debates in 2019....you'd be shaking your head because that attention given....means nothing at this point, it's Joe Biden or nothing. 

Future debates?  I would suggest that you flip the TV off and just read a book. 

If anything, this proves the necessity of having all 50-state primary votes in a two-week period of May.  Literally thousands of man-hours spent on the preparation for the debates in 2019, and various 'expert' chatter on the networks.....which really mean nothing at this point. 

Gullibility

I sat through a YouTube video this past week, and the topic of gullibility came up.  Someone wanted to suggest that it's reached a stage where people are seriously affected by gullibility, and that you need to reach out to people.....to bring them back to a state of reality (or really a new fresh stage of gullibility).

That's the chief problem with this discussion.....are you gullible right now, or would you allow yourself to believe you are gullible then flip into a serious state of new gullibility?

Can we even rate your gullibility situation (one to ten)?

Do more gullible folks come from California than Alabama?

Could you spend eight years at some college....getting a PhD, and emerge as a highly gullible smart guy?

Could you be a US Senator and a top-notch gullible idiot?

Are both political parties taking advantage of your gullibility?

Are TV networks consumed with influencing your gullibility?

We live in an unusual age where people are counting you on your gullibility and their whole lifestyle and success are set to your gullibility. 

My advice....ask more questions.  If it sounds pretty stupid or fake, then it probably is stupid or fake. 


186 Days And Counting

We have 186 days until the 3 November election date.  The ten things I might go and 'predict':

1.  There's ten states which I see in dire circumstances by 3 November (all 'blue' states).  The tax revenue bucket will be screwed up, and funds to pay state employees by that point will non-existent.  Essential things like police and safety folks will be paid.....but I might take a guess that funding for state colleges in these states will be cut in a drastic way.  Tuition, probably will go up in some NY state public colleges by 25-percent.

2.  Joe Biden will be replaced....probably around the convention or shortly after that.  Stacey Abrams is the likely 'filler'.  A lot of the people who did the debates and paid millions for the primary run will be furious how this was arranged.

3.  Goggle, Facebook and Twitter will likely lay off one-third of their employees because general downward trends on advertising.  A lot of their 'dedicated' people will be hostile about being dumped, and expose a lot of their inside problems.

4.  Start expecting gas stations to curtail hours, and it'll run this way in states limiting their economies.  Don't be shocked if your local station which was open from 5 AM to 9 PM....flips to a 6 AM to 6 PM deal.  Same with donut shops lessening their hours.

5.  A small 'collapse' of the housing market will start up by mid-summer, and another bubble will likely occur.....but again in the same states or markets that existed in the problem period of 2008.

6.  A number of lawsuits will start up against deaths in retirement homes, triggering operators to start shut-downs.  Don't be shocked if 10 to 20 percent of homes are curtailed or shut-down by the last quarter of 2020.

7.  NFL in 2020?  At best, they will run 'ghost' games, with no fans allowed in the stadiums.  Even baseball action is hard to figure at this point.  For the minor leagues....it's dismal for 2020. 

8. This absentee ballot/mail ballot chatter?  You will see it pushed a good bit, but the majority of states won't buy into this.  They will instead offer early voting. 

9.  At least 70 Democrats in the House are looking at the end of their period in Washington, and will be replaced.

10.  Finally, some Democrats will breath a sigh of relief once Trump wins.....there's only four years left of his period. 

The 70/30 Situation

According to a study done.....roughly 70-percent of Democrats say that they can't date, hang-out, or marry-up with a GOP guy/gal.  That puts 30-percent in the other bucket....they could go and have some kinda relationship with the GOP guy/gal.

There was a study done back in 2016, talking over this issue.

In that situation, they asked both groups about marriages.

Republican guys?  In thirty-percent of cases, they were married to a Republican gal.

Democratic guys?  In twenty-five percent of cases, they were married to a Democrat gal.

So if you were looking for a Republican guy married to a Democrat gal....that only occurred in 6-percent of cases.

Looking for a Democratic guy married to a Republic gal.....that only occurred in 3-percent of cases.

I worked with a gal around a decade ago who was approaching 35, and still single.   She admitted that finding the right guy was now next to impossible.  He had to show zero interest in sports, not smoke, have no bad habits, owe no real debt, and only marginally drink alcohol (wine was it).  She also admitted along the way that he had to have marginal interest in politics, like cats, and be handsome.  I commented to her....that this filtering system of hers would ensure no guy ever got through.

Looking at this Democrat versus Republican thing....man, this would be tearing some die-hard women apart at age 25.....meeting up with a dynamic 30-year old guy....successful, charming, mildly interested in sports, no debt, able to cook 50 different dishes in the kitchen, likes cats, and even plays the banjo.....only to discover that he's fairly dedicated to Trump.


Sunday 26 April 2020

Simply Observations

1.  What's with North Korea's Kim?

Well....there's a pretty reliable Chinese news journalist who has said in the past 48 hours.....Kim had a heart problem (maybe an attack).  Some doctor got dragged into the situation for a stint, and something went wrong.  Kim is hooked up and clinically....not dead, but real 'ify' if he comes out of this.

The problem?  No one in the family or government wants say anything much, or even suggest to pull plug.  They don't want to be accused by the people in power of terminating Kim.

So you can imagine at least a thousand North Koreans very aware of the mess, and just sitting there.

How long can you do something like this?  No idea.  But it makes for an interesting development.  Maybe you could go twenty years without fully recovering, or even reaching the state of declaring the guy dead.

2.  My mama washed my mouth out with soap.  With all the Trump disinfectant chatter, is there a chance I'm gonna die?

If this was Dove or Irish Spring.....it's not that way.  If this was your Dad's auto shampoo, you better get on your pony and ride to the emergency room and tell them your Mom is a member of some Trump-cult and you might be bad off.

3.  What's the jest of all this journalists hype over Trump's medical advice?

Here's the thing....a whole lot of people in the past thirty years went off to college and more-or-less got 'de-educated'....meaning the professors were dishing out political indoctrination instead of higher education.  So they are near to being dumb-as-dirt (a term we use in Alabama).

These people simply watch TV, live in a bubble for a life-style, and anything they hear (like licking doorknobs or eating Tide-pods)....they just do it.  So there's a fear that folks might over-react.

So this NPR and CNN anti-Trump hype is good for you.....cause you can't really think straight or reason with facts.  Don't worry.

4.  Odds that Biden is out because of that Larry King video from the 1990s?

Biden was out anyway.....just a matter of putting public appearances into an acceptable format.  This Larry King video simply sped up the process.

The people who look really stupid....are the CNN folks, because it was their video.

5.  Have we hit absolute quarantine 'peak'?

Yes.  There might be forty-percent of folks with some pep in their system to play this out for another month.  But the vast majority of folks are fed up.  But politically, it's the biggest chunk of political hype that has come along in forty years.

6.  Is it true that there is a beer 'surplus'?

Well....with all those NBA games cancelled, and the MLB season suspended (so far)....there's tons of beer just laying there.  The brewery folks kinda need a light at the end of the tunnel, and they have yet to see it.

7.  Is there anything we can do about media-bias?

Turn off the TV, and refuse to engage.  Set your social media to just stupid cat pictures, and chatter about aliens.

8.  Does anyone really care what Megan McCain (daughter of John McCain) thinks about?

She seems to think that she has a following.  Even if true....it probably amounts to less than 5,000 women.

Listen....let people have their 'empire' and rest assured....if they didn't have this gimmick going on, they'd be all hyped-up to repaint the garage at least once a month, or trying to lecture people on global warming.

9.  If there is no real entertainment cash flow, or musicals open on Broadway, or movies being shown.....won't the Hollywood crowd or New York 'freaks' just go crazy shortly?

They can probably survive six months of quarantine 'play'.  But eventually, their agent will call up and say that public attention for their name or status is dwindling.  Without movies being made or shown.....and with Broadway shutdown, a whole lot of 'nothing' is occurring.

Course, we may be getting a ton of fake reality TV shows this fall from folks who are desperate for public attention.

10.  This story that came out Friday about Trump having a loan that was connected to the Chinese National Bank.....was this totally fake news?

Listen....here are the facts.

There is one single NY City building which is at the heart of this fake news story.....1290 Avenue of the Americas.

The Trump company did own 30-percent of the 'deal' (yes, his company is a minority player in this).

The original loan did go to a GROUP of banks....which there was a Chinese bank involved.  But they were just one of the group (USB, Deutsche Bank, etc).  So it was not one single bank.

This all occurred around 2012....but then this got bought (the loan deal) by Wells Fargo (yes, those folks).  So the Chinese bank deal lasted maybe two or three years at best.

The question you want to ask now.....how did the Politico fake news folks get their story so wrong?  Basically, you can discount the whole piece that got published on Friday.....there's one single part of it correct in a minor way (there was a Chinese bank involved with a NY property for a brief period of time).  Beyond that....none of the story works.

It's another example of 5th grade kids running a news service and refusing to do real homework.

Saturday 25 April 2020

Getting Lectured.....24 Hours a Day

I spend a fair amount of time each week (since in early retirement) focusing business, politics, chaos, and technology news. 

Out of this....probably one-third of what I view or read.....is more of a lecture, than practical reporting.  It doesn't matter, if you are talking Brit news, the US scene, or even here in Germany.  A lot of individuals are hyped to lecture you.....feeling it's their 'duty' (where they got this idea.....I have no idea).

The problem for these folks is that I dig into the topic area, and usually out with forty-odd facts, and the lecture for me....is basically that of a 5th-grade kid trying to explain to me nuclear physics, but never actually touching on anything related to physics.  Their hint.....it's all bad, so I shouldn't ever jump into anything nuclear-related. 

Maybe in my thirties and forties.....I might have sat for an hour to listen to the lecture, and try to grasp all of the insider information.  To be truthful about me at this point.....I don't have the patience anymore to sit for lectures. 

The lectures from the Fridays for the Future 'kid'?  Sorry, you need more life experience before you come around and try to lecture me.

The lectures on diesel cars being evil?  You were the idiot trying to lecture me forty years ago that we all needed cars which got 50 miles-per-gallon, and basically.....the diesel guys were the only ones who could deliver your expectation.

The lectures on wind-mill generator energy?  Once you said they were 'evil' because they killed all these birds.....I kinda started laughing.

The lectures on kids being stupid to borrow $100,000 to get a college education, and then being shocked at age forty that they were still owing massive debt?  I saw through all those lectures from day one on.

The lectures on intellectual folks being the only ones who you should allow to run governments?  It was a funny argument from day one on. 

The lectures simply went on and on. 

So my advice.....once you reach my stage, don't waste time....flip the channel over to reruns of Flipper, or watch the 1937 movie 'Lost Horizon', or walk the dog an extra hour today.  The lecture simply isn't worth the time or effort. 


On CNN

Someone brought up a comment on 'CNN having credibility' recently, and the talk went to the 1990s.

It's hard to imagine but as you went from the late 1980s, into the mid-1990s....CNN had respect....dignity.....honor....and recognition. 

You could have turned on Larry King and gotten a decent four-star interview.  You could have viewed some ongoing situation where they actually didn't go to find experts.....they just let the camera run and let things unfold from witnesses on the scene. 

Today?  I sit and have the finger on the 'mute-button' and attempt to view CNN until they bring in the 'experts'.  The mute goes on and I wait until they reach the next story. 

The big boss of AT&T is supposed to be leaving shortly, and some suggest that as the new guy arrives....he might go and put CNN up for sale.  Profitability?  I doubt if CNN has turned any real profit for the past six to eight years.  The possibility that some Chinese unit will end up buying CNN?  It wouldn't really shock me. 

Simply Observations

1.  Should medical advice only come from a doctor, and not from the President of the United States?

Given the current situation, I think in future elections, we should only elect medical school graduates, veterinarians, dentists, and rodeo-riders.  Then we'd all be happy over their medical advice.  Note, it always seems because of injuries and horse woes, rodeo-riders seem to know a good bit on health aspects.  Course, considering all of this.....President Hillary in this case would have offered medical advice, and what would you have done with her?

2.  Did 94-percent of all New Yorkers who died from Covid-19.....have secondary conditions?

Yep.  A review was done and reported via the NY Post.   If you had lived a pretty healthy life (greens, salad, no fats, exercise, etc).....you would have done OK.

But the next question is this.....how many New Yorkers live unhealthy?  Might be curious to know that part of the story.

3.  Did bin Laden actually say that he wanted to kill Obama.....to bring a weak Joe Biden into the Presidency?

Information from the secret villa says that.  How bin Laden came to this analysis is not known.  Maybe he was watching Fox News, and it just hit him one day that Joe wasn't that capable.

4.  What kind of disinfectant should one consume, with Trump's advice?

Believe it or not.....gin is a fine disinfectant, and I'd mix it with a good sour mix.  Three shots per glass.  I'd call it Trumpfectant.

Oh, I should add....it doesn't do much for the Coronavirus.

5. This crazy idea (voiced by Trump)....'injecting' UV/sunlight directly into your veins....crazy?

Well....probably.  But there's this thing to think about.  Bats are where this virus came from, and bats hate the the sunlight.  I can see some PhD guy standing there and just wondering....if you put some UV down into you (like the lungs)....what would happen to the virus?  Who knows....it might be that crazy, and everyone starts getting dragged into some clinic for a 30-minute procedure of UV if their test says positive.

6. Is there some crazy connection between opioids and the Wuhan situation?

You have to be amused by this....Wuhan was the center-point of production for all opioids in the world.  The various compounds and ingredients, with the right production people....all in this twenty-mile circle.  Even the LA Times is talking about this massive problem now (no production).

So fentanyl is not getting produced?  No one is saying a 100-percent work-stoppage.  But the hint here is that the gangs are now in a crazy period, and whatever was going on in Wuhan.....with the police establishing a no-exit situation....has lessened the supply around the world.  Since the no-exit business went down two weeks ago?  Not much is said. 

7.  Is there any kind of real resume for Stacey Abrams....the likely VP candidate for Joe Biden?

I usually make jokes out of losers running for office with a 7-line resume (enough to put on a 3x5 inch card).  In her case (Abrams).....she probably has a 12-line resume, which is slightly better than most losers.

After college, she did go and be a tax-lawyer for charity operations....keeping the IRS off their butt.  She also set up a legal-consulting firm. 

Back in 2002, she became a deputy-lawyer for the city of Atlanta.  Five years after that....she became state assembly representative.  From 2010 to 2017, you can find a dozen-odd things within the state assembly job that she pushed or led on. 

On qualifications to be a Vice-President....from the past twenty years of various characters....she'd at least be in the middle of the group (not at the end as the 7-line loser type).

But here's the odd factor....she's never won an office higher than state assembly representative...ever.  State prosecutor?  No.   Governor?  No.  House or Senate situation?  No.  If you lined up all of the people for the past hundred years who'd run as a VP candidate.....she's the weakest of them all.  If it were not for the news media situation that we have now.....no one outside of the state would know her.

8.  Are dead people actually getting removed from the 'dead by Coroniavirus' listing? 

Well....yeah.  At least in the state of Penn.  All that is said is that some folks came up and identified some 200-odd people....who were mostly dead from 'something else' (heart attacks, etc). 

It is a bit confusing.  Maybe the bigger question to ask....if they are dead....are they still registered to vote in some way?

9.  Are we having a problem with rudeness?

People will say that there is a 'norm', and that we've exceeded the 'norm' by a good bit in this modern time.  To be honest though.....people were disrespectful in the 1990s....the 1980s....etc. 

Maybe it's a pretender status thing where for a brief hour or so.....we pretend to be nice, when the rudeness thing is brewing heavily upon us. 

10.  Any truth to the rumor that this Brit guy....Christopher Steele, who wrote the Trump dossier....deleted all of his reference material?

This past week, Steele admitted....bluntly....that he'd deleted all reference material back in January of 2017.  Reason?  Nothing much is offered.  So anything that could explain the details, how they were found, or dates of discovery.....simply don't exist.  Value of the dossier at this point?  On a scale of one to ten.....probably a minus-10. 

There's no reason for the FBI to even maintain a copy of the dossier, or for any news organization to even bring it up at this point.  It's like it never existed.  Pretty funny in a way.  The dossier that never was....even in the first place. 

Friday 24 April 2020

The Hype to Get At Trump's Tax Returns

For 3.5 years, this has lingered around, and it probably deserves some pondering, and reasoning.  So I'll offer the seven observations:

1.  If New York state tax revenue people, and the IRS ever felt his submissions.....for over fifty years, were screwed-up, they would go and take an audit.  If they have finished up an audit.....he would have been given the 'paperwork' to pay his bill, and been dragged into court.  Apparently.....neither has done that. 

Wonder why?  He hires top-notch people to do his tax submissions.....not H and R Block.

2.  If you think this is a wise idea.....why not the VP, the cabinet posts, the Senators, and the House members as well?

I'm waiting....but all I hear is silence.

Frankly, I'd like to clear the deck and put all of them to the task.  If they bought stock and got wealthy.....what stock, and how did they get the insider info?

3.  If we go and make this a policy.....if you were a businessman, wouldn't it scare the crap out of you, and convince you to never run for office?

4.  Even if all of this were correct, and nothing wrong with the tax submission.....wouldn't your chief aim be to find out about his loans, what the cost or interest deal was about? 

Is that really any of your business?

5.  If the review was approved.....who is the reviewer?  Who appoints the guy? 

6.  If the loan deal was in his wife's name.....is there anything wrong with that?

7.  Does this really fix or resolve democracy in America?  Or would have a brand-new problem in two weeks?

The Ten Paths of the TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome)

I'm not a clinical physiological expert or graduate.  However, I sit and read a great deal, and analyze people and situations.  I'll offer the following observations:

1.  You'd really like to correct people that you feel are wrong. 

2.  Intellectually, you feel superior to the people who voted for Trump.  In fact, you may have attended college, and even wrapped up a PhD, thus giving you more insight than the mere mortals walking around. 

3.  You tend to socialize and develop friendships only with people of your mindset.

4.  You view one single news medium, and rarely see any alternate news.

5.  You believe in a high rate of propaganda being used for the 'other' people, yet vouch that no propaganda ever influences you.

6.  Friendships don't matter.....you can easily cast a friend aside if they have the wrong prospective in life.  Even associates with your church or your next-door neighbor.....can easily be cast aside.The friends that you do have....all have the same tendency and support each other in the same fashion. 

7.  You generally laugh over the previous syndromes suggested (Bush Derangement Syndrome, Clinton Derangement Syndrome, and Obama Derangement Syndrome).

8.  You generally believe your status in the world (as a journalist, Hollywood character, rock-star or fictional writer) is enough to sway people and reclaim them from their mental defect.

9.  You generally believe that a Jesus-political figure can only save you, while a Satan-political figure can only hurt you.

10.  You probably consume more than two hours of news per day. 

Something To Ponder Upon

A study was completed by the New York state health department.  Basically, their statistical review says this.....from the sum total of the entire state (19.5 million)....roughly 13-percent of the folks have had the Coronavirus.

Prior to the study?  Folks kinda thought that the sum total was ONE-percent.

What this all mean?  Basically....a whole bunch of folks were infected and showed few if any symptoms. 

Yeah, it's the kind of thing that would make you pause and ponder.  Today, you might bump into 200 total people, by the time you wrap up things and head back home.  Co-workers, the gas station people, the coffee lady, the burger kid and his crew, the bartender who served you a beer, and the sixteen people within ten feet of you at the pub.  Out of that.....26 of them have had the virus, or have it currently. 

Why Resumes Matter

Around the early 1990s, I took to viewing people by their resume.  I would move into an office (those being my military years), and assess new people by what I saw them doing or achieving.  In simple terms.....they were 'writing' a verbal resume, and I was 'reading' it.

Around twenty years ago, I branched out and looked at individuals beyond who I worked for.  This meant looking at Senators, Governors, and journalists.  At this point, I began to note one-star wonders.....people who felt they were qualified for 'something' but the truth was that they couldn't really achieve much of anything.

John McCain was one of those people.  Once you went down his resume....he just wasn't that qualified or capable.  He did make speeches, and blast people, but beyond that.....he wasn't an achiever-type.

Bill Clinton was at the positive end.  He'd done various jobs, and accomplished enough at each level.....to prove his value on the resume.

Hillary Clinton?  Even into 2016, she had a basic 7-line resume, without much to show except she was the wife of Bill Clinton.  The Secretary of State job and the Senator routine for eight years?  She was showing up for work but not achieving much of anything.

The resume for Mitt Romney?  He was a die-hard road-kill artist....swooping down upon burned-out companies without much value.....casting off what was dead-weight, and then finding one or two gems in the whole mess....to repackage and resell.  Beyond that, he did nothing to fix or resolve the mess....he was there to dissolve it.

I came to work for an officer one day, who'd had one single run-in with a junior officer who was sexual-assault player.  At some point, he'd seen enough of the behavior, and dragged the guy into a bloom-closet and blackened the guy's eye.  That single event set up a reputation....mostly as a guy who didn't take BS.  His resume, I tended to stamp as a four-star situation.

Lately, I've taken to viewing journalists, and assigning values to their resumes.  Most....I would suggest.....are not talented to stay in the field long-term.  Yes, I'm suggesting that a fair number of people in the field of news are simple pretenders....who drifted through college and impressed a couple of people enough to gain a doorway situation.  Beyond that.....they don't measure up to folks who were there in the 1960s or 1970s.

I would suggest that people sit and view people and their 'resume'.....asking themselves, what exactly has the guy or gal accomplished in the past ten to twenty years. If this 'resume' is fewer than seven lines, maybe they aren't that impressive, and you should just pass on their significance. 

Thursday 23 April 2020

No Drugs or Alcohol While Watching CNN

I would strongly urge people to avoid drugs or alcohol while watching CNN, because it's already fairly confusing without either of them in your system.

The best part....two minutes after this conference ended, you had five 'experts' who told you five different interpretations of what was said, and it was like each watching a bar-room fight, and each having a different view of the ending. 

How Socialism 'Would Really Work'

Marvin goes and gets twenty people signed up, and your organization (company) is to make candles.  Don't ask about necessity of candles, or the numbers equaling realistic profits.  This is a brief discussion on how socialism would work.

Marvin gets a 'compact' (an agreement with the twenty folks).  They approach a bank to get a start-up loan.  The bank has to avoid asking stupid questions (profitability, if any of you have ever made candles, or customer potential).  So they hand you the loan.  As stupid as Marvin might be.....the bank has to be just as stupid. 

Now you start the candle business.  You have to assume, in this socialist atmosphere.....there is no competition.  If there were competition, and others were better than you....then your business would rapidly decline.  But in this socialist world....you make candles within your region (say ten miles) and no one competes against you.

Added to this....one has to assume that none of the twenty want to take charge, and that Marvin acts as the 'lead' (never use the word boss in a socialist situation). 

Everyone in the group is paid the same.  The pricing of the candles?  Only what the raw materials cost, and the cost of labor.  No profit can be built into the candle business. 

If anyone comes along with longer-lasting candles....to compete against you?  That's another forbidden situation. 

If customers come along to refuse your candles?  Well, that can't seriously happen in a truly socialistic world. 

If Marvin screwed up and needed to be let go?  Well, the system would have to prevent that....because Marvin would be out of a job and without an income. 

There are a list of a hundred different 'what-if' scenarios.....where nothing can really change or improve....if you were a truly socialistic company. 

So I come to the end of this discussion.  As much as some people want socialism to be the driving force in life....we've moved past the wagon-wheel state of mind, and live in a world where the candle factory concept simply won't work.  In simple terms, you'd have to go and totally re-invent socialism, with a totally different end-result, if you wanted to make it a model of operation today. 

Simply Observations

1.  Did Bernie Sanders really say:  "In a truly free society, economic rights must be considered human rights."

Yep, he said it.  So you sit there and think about it for three minutes.  What exactly do economic rights mean?  I know.....it just wasn't plain enough for me to figure the implications here.

Maybe he does mean I should be able to buy four burgers at McDonalds for $1.99, or that a bottle of Jack Daniels should be no more than $12.  Maybe he means that everyone should be able to have a double-wide trailer for less than $300 a month.

It's just another reason why I can't see Bernie in the White House.

2.  Are there really 7,383 total legislators in America today?

Yes, but don't get worried.....they are deemed 'essential' and still collect a check each month.

3.  Did Bloomberg actually spend out over one-billion dollars.....on a one-star campaign?

Listen, some people felt that he was dressed up and gave the radiant appearance of a soon-to-be-President.  The problem was....he gave a 'wooden' performance.  He was like a three-quarter-speed Obama, or a slow-motion George Bush.

I seriously believe that the DNC players figured he'd rush in....take the load off Joe Biden, and quickly protect the whole election game (keeping Bernie Sanders out of the convention system).  They guessed seriously wrong.

The billion lost?  People will talk about this for the next decade, and suggest that the billion....in the hands of Beto or Mayor Pete.....would have turned the whole election around.

4.  Is Wuhan fully open?

If you follow the real news and the fake news, there's a difference.  The Chinese authorities say it's fully open.  If you talk to Americans who returned to the city in the past week.....they generally say the city is about one-third open.  What they are basing this upon?  Mostly driving around and hitting places that they typically would have shopped or gotten service.

So the real question should be.....is Wuhan version 2.0 going to recover?  I would make a guess here that a fair number of people didn't see a reason to stay there, and have moved on.  I also suspect that if you actually bean-counted people over the age of sixty......probably half of that population aren't living anymore.

Does it matter?  No.  Go look at the Incas and the Aztecs....their civilizations hit some blunt situation, and folks packed up to leave.  History repeats itself.

5.  Did Joe Biden actually say that he'd pick a VP by the 1st of May?

Yes.

But the convention is still like 15 weeks away?  Yes. 

At the pace of declining health, I don't think Joe can last till mid-August. 

6.  Three million Americans NOT pay on their mortgage presently.....isn't that going to be a problem?

Because of the crisis, you could play this game out for 90 days, but after that point, the banks would require the federal government to 'help' or you'd have a 2008 crisis all over again.  Let's be honest here.....a lot of people were surviving with a paycheck-to-paycheck situation, and there is no six-month stock of financial reserves.

If this were to be dragged out until August, I'd suggest we enter another crisis period....just on bank problems alone.

7.  Did the governor of Virginia pack up some bags and go off to his vacation home on the Outer Banks (North Carolina)?

No.  Well....he says the social media chatter is incorrect and that he didn't leave his state of Virginia.  The suggestion that people have 'seen' him at the home?  I might suspect it's one of his friends using the home.  At this point, having issued executive orders for Virginians to remain at home.....if he'd done something this stupid, he'd be out of a job.

8.  Is there factual data to suggest sunshine matters with the virus?

Well....some scientists have done the numbers.  Sunshine states/countries (I'm assuming they mean like New Mexico/Arizona/Jordan/Egypt) have a lesser virus situation.  Course, that would mean places like the UK and Italy would be at the opposite end of this, and bound to suffer more.

9.  Did 'thugs' try to burn down a police station in Strausbourg, France?

Pretty unique situation.  So what the national French news says is that a Molovtov cocktail or two was thrown at the front of the building, and some minor flame did occur.  Damage?  Virtually nothing much except some broken glass and burn 'marks' on the structure. 

Local chatter on it?  This area of town, Meinau, is the location of a number of high-rise cheapo apartments.  Wild behavior isn't something that is unusual in this neighborhood.  With warm weather and tensions on the rise because of the ban rules....chaos is on the rise, and the cops are in the middle of this.

10.  This $1-billion deal between California and China for masks.....is there a problem over this deal?

Well, you don't know.  It probably should have been a open-competition situation, but the governor won't release the contract and details.....so immediately, you are drawn to wonder about the insider information.  Just on transparency.....you'd give the guy a 'F'. 

Wednesday 22 April 2020

The New Mask

With all the shortage of masks.....I imagined this would come up shortly, and some smart engineer-type guy would do this.  The basic idea?  You go to the store and buy a box of Kotex, and 'string' it.

Now, the obvious question is....are you 'man' enough to wear it in public, and how will this be perceived?  The other problem....in a short amount of time.....guys would be buying boxes and these, and suddenly....you've have a Kotex shortage. 

Can you imagine some White House reporter asking Trump if he stop this crisis, and he just grins.....trying not to say anything funny. 

Simply Observations

1.  Any real update or truth to North Korea and Kim's health?

Well, unofficially.....some folks are saying that Kim needed a heart procedure done.  They looked around and virtually no doctor in North Korea had the skills required.  So the story goes that Kim had some Chinese doctor flown in and that guy had some Coronavirus 'bug' going on.

The same folks say that Kim is in some recovery phase, and still alive at this point.

Looking at everything.....it's probably true.  As for what happened to the Chinese doctor after this chaos?  Unknown.

2. Did the Michigan Governor say that abortions are essential because they are 'Life-Sustaining'?

Yeah.....she did kinda say it that way.  There are a hundred ways that you could have said some legit term and avoided looking stupid, but she apparently didn't feel the need to avoid stupidity.

3.  Is it true that some Indonesian authorities are sending quarantine ''breakers" off to a haunted house as punishment?

Well....yeah.  It's not something that Chancellor Merkel or President Trump would do, but it's apparently acceptable there.

Course, no one is saying that it cures people of bad behavior.  I would have just gone and given the guilty party seven doses of some really strong Ex-Lax stuff, and told them to prepare to sit on the toilet for twelve hours.

4.  This effort by Canada and the US....to quietly fund bat-virus stuff in China (done in apparently the Obama years and continued till now)......what's with this?

Well....so far, no one has given any public statement within US channels.  Trump simply said 'what the hell?'   You'd almost sit and think that some CIA fake medical folks were part of the deal, and they helped to bring about a virus there in Wuhan, with fake research.  (Note, no, the CCP didn't pay me to say that.  It's just that this all would make a fine script for a 3-star movie with Dustin Hoffman).

5.  This new Iranian gimmick of solving the Coronavirus....drinking camel urine....is this true?

Well, some Mullah guy came up and said in a public statement (carried on radio) that camel urine cures the situation.  My question would be.....how exactly do you collect this, and does it need to be real fresh or just 12 hours old?

6.  In surveying this 'mail-by-vote' discussion in the US....what's the biggest issue to overcome?

Well, some folks don't have a mailbox.  Yes, the same people who don't have ID cards.....probably don't have mailboxes.  Countless thousands....tens of thousands....simply don't have a mailbox.

In the status quo of things....the poverty folks would suffer greatly in this mail-by-vote business, because they don't got any mailbox.  (said exactly how a dimwit would say it)

(note: if you think this is stupid, so is the idea of people not having an ID)

7. This new study that says roughly 40-percent of people are NOT showing symptoms of the virus (asymptomatic)....is this a big deal?

Well, here's what you ought to consider.  It could be that 40-percent of people have some natural immunity that shelters them (DNA, diet, vegan-status, heavy shrimp diet, heavy nicotine smoker, wine drinker, etc).  So on top of that....you might have another 30-odd percent who have a marginal display of symptoms (one or two symptoms total).  So from the remainder....it's divided up into mild-virus period, rough-virus period, and 'at-deaths-door' status.

This would really harm the whole doom scenario and reset the whole stage.  It might also explain why Germans haven't had much of a problem.

8. Did the WV governor really say that all this Virus chatter and chaos.....might drive folks to the rural lifestyle?

Yeah, he did say that folks would re-evaluate things, and rural comforts would change people.  Course, if you already live in rural surroundings.....I'm not sure how you would emerge out of the chaos.

9. After Mayor de Blasio of NY City opened up the 'report-on-your-neighbor' tip line.....how did that go?

Some folks were now reporting at the tip-line that they'd seen the mayor (de Blasio) behind some 7-11 on such-and-such street, engaged in lewd behavior.  Pictures of Hitler were sent to the tip line as well.  In simple terms, New Yorkers aren't taking him or his tip line serious.

10.  Is phony empathy now becoming a problem during the virus period?

Lets just be honest.....phony empathy has been around for thousands of years, and if you hadn't grasped that fact until now.....it's your problem.

Just get over it and proceed on.

Tuesday 21 April 2020

Simply Observations

1.  Did a Harvard law professor actually suggest that homeschooling and hanging around parents 24 hours a day.....is a disaster-in-the-making? 

Well, her chatter was that it was just a plain disaster.....not a disaster-in-the-making.  She'd rather for you to dump the kid off with the school system, and let the kids hang out with teachers instead. 

I would view it this way.  If your dad was Einstein, and your mom was Madam Curie.....it'd be pure-hell to hang out with them all day, and get lectured constantly.  However, if your dad was a rodeo-rider, and your mom was a part-time banjo-player, part-time Briggs and Stratton mechanic, and part-time lecturer on Plato....you might come out ahead with them instead of the teacher deal.

2.  Did a British newspaper find a doctor who says the Coronavirus can be spread by farts?

Well....yeah. 

Back in the 1990s....I had to fly into central England in the early AM, and ended up at 7:30 at a local pub which featured breakfast.  The lovely gal served up a huge plate of sausages, extremely greasy hash browns, beans (more than an ample supply), and some very buttery pieces of toast.  By 10 AM, I hit maximum overdrive on farts.  With this type of diet, I might go worrying about my work-associates and the possibility that the farts might be contaminated.

3.  Mr Kim of North Korea in danger?

Yep.  Some type of surgical procedure, and it's a 50-50 situation presently.  If he passes on, it'll be curious how things proceed.

4.  Any truth that Joe Biden is putting a White House transition team together?

It's chatter....just plain ordinary chatter.  Someone called someone, and hinted something, and a week into this.....some Biden people think there is a transition team being staged.  If you dig into the story.....you'd probably find two Russian guys creating a fake transition gimmick, and no one bothered to ask questions.

5.  Did some top level journalist actually say: "Controlling what people think 'is our job'"?

Yeah, but it's not worth getting all huffy about.  The same journalist would probably go into a fit if they found out that 40-percent of their viewers are listening to her only because she's blonde and 'lusty'.

6.  How many people exist with a job-title of 'fact-checker'?

Statistically, it's an unanswerable situation.  Some are not full-time fact-checkers.  Some are not anything beyond their first job after college.  Some are doing fact-checking as their number four job.  And some are asking for the facts to present to their boss as the facts (think about that for a minute).

7.  Is Pelosi $13 per pint ice cream worth it?

Lets be honest.....50-cent per pint ice cream from Piggly Wiggly is crap.  The $6 a pint Haagen-Dazs ice cream is worth every penny.  However, I can't imagine anything topping that level, and being worth $13 a pint....not unless you mixed some fine bourbon and fresh Louisiana-grown strawberries.

8.  Did Katie Couric actually say that carrying the Presidential press conferences 'unfiltered' is "irresponsible"?

Yes.  Don't worry.....no one has listened to her since 2006 when she left the Today Show and became a pretender-journalist.  Some folks would suggest that listening to nightly news via CNN 'unfiltered' is also "irresponsible".

9.  The odds that Congressman Dan Crenshaw will be one of the final three folks in the GOP Presidential primary in 2024?

Right now.....it's a 99-percent probability on my 'scale'.  For the fake-Republican crowd.....this is a disaster, with another Trump-style guy.

10.  This Canada mass shooting.....a bit unusual?

Well....first, the news media isn't hyped.  Second, the guy was fully dressed in a police uniform, carrying police weapons and had a police-type car.  This guy had this planned out in weeks, perhaps even months. 

The guy simply pulling people over and shooting them on the side of the road?  Something that no one has ever seen before.

The guys occupation?  He built dentures....a fairly low stress job. 

In my mind, he's not the typical paranoid schizophrenic.....he's a psycho-killer type.  I think if they do the investigation correctly.....they will find that he's done this a few dozen times before.....just one at a time. 

11.  How many Kremlin moles are within the Trump administration?

It's anyone's guess....maybe a dozen.  How many Kremlin moles exist within the Senate and House?  Probably a dozen.  How many Kremlin moles exist within CNN?  Probably a dozen.  There's probably even people out there who 'think' they are Kremlin moles but are just physiologically unbalanced (nice term to mean nutcases).

12.  Could you be a racist bigot and not know it?

Yes.  You could also be thinking you are a brilliant intellectual and not grasp that you have the brain-power of a 5-grade kid.  You could also be thinking that by non-participation in politics....you are doing a positive thing, and years later realize that you are mostly governed by inferior and incompetent people.  You could also think you've gotten all this fantastic wisdom via college, and then discover that your cousin Marvin (the one who sets up tomb-stones at graveyards) secretly studies Plato nightly, and appears to be a bit more wiser than you. 

So it matters what you know, and don't know. 

13.  With all the video shot in San Francisco and L A.....doesn't the image represent some third-world pretender country in Africa?

It's a reflection of a lost society....don't let it bother you (just get the moving van loaded up and get the hell out of the state).

14.  Any truth to the rumor that 20 big-tankers from Saudi Arabia are nearing the Gulf coast to dump off more oil, at roughly $20 a barrel?

Yes.  To be honest, there's no profit being made, and you have to question why they don't just halt full production for three months. 

Added to this.....no airline on the face of the Earth is operating at even 50-percent of their normal capability. 

15.  Any truth to the story that medication for anxiety, stress and sleep disorders are way up?

Well, the NY Post says yes.  34-percent increase over this same period last year.

I would imagine if you went to Colorado weed shops....they'd tell you that consumer visits are up by twenty to forty percent. 

No need to worry though....just people unable to cope with 'doom' and despair. These are the people who didn't go to gin and cheap booze. 

Trump and the 'Kids'

In the early 1960s....Donald Trump went off to two years of university at Fordham (Penn).  Not much is really said about Fordham, but it's a private college run by the Jesuits. 

Here's the two key things about this college.  First....it's designed as a research college, where you develop reasoning and analysis (key skills for people in life).  Second, they don't produce losers.....just about everyone who comes out of this college....goes onto a remarkable career.

But here's the thing....Trump only stays there two years, and then transfers over to the Wharton School of Business (under the University of Penn).

During this two-year period, he's there for education over finance and economics.  This is another private school, which produces only 'winners'.  Wharton, in today's world?  Once you graduate, you can virtually guarantee yourself a starting salary of $160k a year.  It's one of those places where the tuition is a 'killer' ($74k a year), but you can probably pay it back in five years, and guarantee yourself to a millionaire status by age thirty-five.

So when these journalists walk into the conference room and think they can bully Tump (like Bush or Obama).....they are at a serious disadvantage.  He's able to remember facts, presentations, and assemble data....to 'out-reason' the 'kids'.  The 'kids' may think they have college education and are at his level, but they really aren't.  They can't reason, or perform analysis....at his level.

It's not that he's smarter.....he's simply got the skills and tools to grasp things, and move on. 

As you watch the conferences live and view the 'kids' at work....remember, they are in the room with a guy who is thinking at a level above them, and their antics or bully-chat basically have no affect on him.  He's not just embarrassing them.....but he's forcing them to either improve their skill level or reasoning ability.....or be let-go. 

Monday 20 April 2020

Book Review: Breakdown of Higher Education

By John M. Ellis

I'll go through thirty to forty books a year, and most all of them are history pieces.  This one was a bit different.  I should note that it's a recent product (in the past couple of months). 

This 210-page book is one that covers the downward spiral of the college system over the past forty-odd years.  It's a well-documented research piece which goes to discuss a losing situation with university degrees today.

I've generally said this for the past decade.....four-year degrees now will cost you in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, and with debt situation in full view.....with the value of the end-product questionable......it's not what existed in the 1970s/1980s.

In simple terms, you have fake college graduates walking around and trying to impress you with a 10th-grade high school mentality.  The sad thing is that their professors demonstrated nothing over the past four years, in exchange for the $80,000. 

The chief failure?  There are dozens of problems but Ellis goes and lays out the problem of analysis and reasoning now lacking in the case of virtually all graduates.  Most programs have become more of a political indoctrination episode....instead of instructing kids how to view a situation, analyze it, or predict the problem or the outcome....you end up believing a product without any true reason. 

If you were a parent with a kid finishing high school in the next five years.....you might want to read the book and find a alternate path for the kid.  It's a book that you can easily finish in three to four days. 

When It's TOO MUCH

Over the past week, I've watched a lot of interviews with Americans explaining things to journalists, and the chatter is concerning.  It ought to worry people.

'On the edge' is used a lot.  'Risk' is used a good bit.  One lady used the phrase 'defeated'.  'Things are deranged' was another phrase put out there.

Way too many people sitting at home, instead of work or at their favorite hobby.  Way too many people focused on the news networks or Twitter.  Way too many people worrying about the unknown.

In some ways, this is becoming like an episode of Marvel, with evil people fighting good people on a daily basis.  In one version, Nancy Pelosi is like Captain America.....and in another version, she's 'Red Skull' (the most evil of bad guys).  I don't have a problem with a Marvel movie consuming my interest three or four times a year.  But if you said I have to watch a major Marvel release each single day, well....it's going to be a problem sooner or later.

I sat and watched a piece where the CNN journalist tried to hype-up President Trump.  Finally, Trump says to the guy....."You don't have the brains that you were born with."

Trump-enthusiasts will likely agree  that somewhere along the path....this poor CNN guy lost his 'brains'.  Some southerners would even go and say a prayer for the guy....hoping that he finds his 'brains'. 

The anti-Trump enthusiasts will get all peeved....how dare Trump insult the poor CNN guy.   Then they will want to sit by you at the pub or bar and talk about this insult and frustration they feel presently.  You being the bold person that you are.....suggest that maybe they are getting a bit too much of TV news and maybe you ought to flip over to Bonanza reruns, or watch pro-wrestling repeats from the Randy Savage years. 

I read this morning....off the NY Times, that your condition of your testicles (meaning men only, not you fake women-to-men) may be impacted by the Coronavirus.  Both me and the male-cat in the house got hyped up real-quick over that health discussion.  Again, it's 'worry-chatter'.  I can speak for the cat....that last trip to the vet where the balls thing was discussed, it didn't help his disposition 

At any moment now, I expect some expert to appear on US TV, and hype that some miracle solution has been found, and that if I could just eat four plates a day of broccoli.....I'd be spared the virus. 

Yeah, it's all gotten to a point of being 'TOO MUCH'. 

A Little Fantasy

Pause and think over this....you live in a state which has shut down business operations for the most part, and the chief financial officer of the state tax revenue business has asked to see you (the governor).

So the two of you sit down, and he hands you a sheet.  There's two numbers on the sheet.  One is 44.9 billion.  The other is 445-million.  Then he says in a normal year, you collect via tax revenue for the state around 44.9 billion.  The 445-million he says.....is what you are missing each WEEK that you keep business operations for the most part....shut-down.

So just three lousy weeks of a zero-business situation....means you have a short-fall of 1.3-billion minimum.  You (as governor) then ask....how will we make up the short-fall?   The finance guy just grins.....then says 'you can't make it up'.  Either you open things up, or you go to the banks to borrow a massive sum, which you have to pay back with interest later.  That means a massive tax increase coming in 2021/2022.   

Then the little geek finance guy says....if you attempt to go three additional weeks, that brings the sum to 2.7-billion dollars.

So imagine states like Michigan, Illinois, and California.  If you had Obama, with a Democratic-controlled House and Senate....you'd get a free 'gift-money' package.  Presently?  You get nothing.

So pause over the problem here.  Everyone, I suspect....will be open in about two weeks. 

Sunday 19 April 2020

Simply Observations

1.  Did AOC actually say that the US is a 'brutal, barbaric society'?

Yep.  She meant it in terms of economics.  In her mind, your paycheck and lifestyle simply continue on....even if you aren't producing anything, selling products, or providing a service.  Yep, it's brutal when all of that fancy stuff just comes to a full-up halt.

Does she need a dose of reality?  She's one of those folks that I think ought to take a year off....travel around the country and talk to plain regular people.

2.  In the 20-odd states that Hillary won in 2016....is there a problem with them voting against Trump in 2020?

The majority of them are locked onto defeating Trump a second time around.  However, several states will be voting more for Trump on this time around.  California this time around for example....will go from 32-percent for Trump....to probably around 47-percent for Trump.  And in some counties/districts.....it'll be shocking how the Democrats lose traditional black/Latino votes.

3. Do people really want to hear from more millionaire celebrities how easy it is to wait this out?

There might be some who go along with this concept.  The majority of people are fed up with these Twitter conversations suggesting to 'wait it out'.

4. Any truth to traffic accident lessening due to the Coronavirus?

Well....yes.  A recent study showed a dramatic decrease.  I suspect if you could get the medical people to review the numbers....even heart-attacks have decreased during this period.  Farmers seeing less deaths and accidents?  No....those folks are still working 15-hour days.

5.  That Auburn, California mayor who tried to make a KKK-reference to Trump recently.....dies Saturday in a airplane accident?

Yep.  Pretty weird.  After he'd done his tirade on the KKK-chatter, he'd announced that on 27 April....he'd resign as town mayor.  This was just a freak-accident.

6.  Did the state of Illinois waste $17-million on a lesser-quality mask for their first-responders?

Well, the widely accepted N-95 masks (approved by the 'Holly-Grail' people at NIOSH could not be found (at least at the pricing that the state had), so they went to the KN-95 mask.

So, this debate starts up, because NIOSH hasn't approved the KN-95.  Who does approve the KN-95?  The Chinese government.  Yep, so this is the current debate.

How this debate goes?  Lot of counterfeit masks around and the KN-95 series is one that gets discussed a good bit.  You might be buying the high quality type, or the counterfeit type with marginal quality built into it.

In this case, someone with 'balls' needs to stand up and verify every box purchased and sign off that they aren't marginally made or counterfeit.

"Doom-Porn"

Around ten years ago, I walked into a 24-hour watch center with a dozen people there....glued to one particular TV screen in the middle of the room.  The display was a live car chase in the mid-day hours.....somewhere in central California....and the cops after some idiot.  No one was doing anything but paying attention to the chase, and I stood there with them.....watching the 'doomed' chase continue.  Eventually, the cops caught up with the idiot and set some dog on him to tackle him to the ground after the car simply stopped.  This consumed around ten minutes of our time....watching this unfold.

One of the watch-people and I conversed about this after the event.  He noted that this happens around an average of five times a week as far as he knows, and each time it comes on live.....they all stop and watch the event.  I asked....is there anything that you really get out of this, or is it like an episode of 'Demolition-Derby'?  He mostly grinned and agreed, that was exactly what drew him to the event.

Around a year ago, I tried to watch CNN.  It was a mid-day hour, and their focus was another full hour of 'Trump-porn'.  Five experts....going in a circle....all focused on the great downfall of Trump. 

There are two groups within this CNN 'circle'.  One group consists of the news journalists themselves....who show up daily and take what they have....to build a full hour of 'doom'.

The second group are the 'consumers' at home (the viewers) who are locked in and have to watch each gripping hour of 'Trump-porn' to fulfill their desires. 

Maybe in 2017, they were mildly into the act, but we are in the midst of the 4th year, and frankly....some of these people are on the verge of a 'melt-down'.

I noticed last night (via Twitter) that CNN's Brian Stelter was describing his mental condition, and laying out what was a lite version of a emotional breakdown. Between the Corona-doom, the death-doom, and the Trump-porn....he was now at some low-point. 

What was shocking, via Twitter.....after he admitted this.....various people came up to admit the same feeling.....hopelessness and despair.  The evil-Trump, the deaths on all sides, and just plain utter fear in dealing with all of this. 

In the middle of these Twitter-feelings....some guy finally stood up and said....'why don't you guys just turn the TV off and do some actual work'?

The problem here is that people across the nation....maybe numbering into the five to ten million....are in great despair, and via CNN and the other 'services'....they are binge-watching all of this and reaching some mental stage where they can't handle things.  Tomorrow will come, and they will turn the TV on to watch Trump-porn, death-doom, Corona-doom, and conversations between experts on all this stuff.

Even if they were able to convince people to all vote for Biden....relieving everyone of the Trump-porn....then you'd wake up to realize that Biden doesn't have much of an answer, and we'd get introduced to Biden-porn. 

There's something wrong here, but we haven't grasped that angle of the problem yet. 

Saturday 18 April 2020

Simply Observations

1.  Are all these people who were making $50,000 a year and living pay-check to pay-check in trouble?

They were in trouble last year, and simply have fallen to the final step.  There were people making $150,000 a year, and living under the same umbrella.  You can pray for them, and offer them some burgers off your grill, but otherwise, they shouldn't be on your 'gotta-save-them-souls' list.

2.  Should the President have done something earlier?

Oh absolutely.  There should have been some Army-run camp in New Mexico and once you were tested 'positive'.....they should have trucked you there and waited for you to pass to 'negative' or passed-on.  See if that reaction makes your CNN journalist guy happy.

3.  This World Health Organization budget chatter....is it worth discussing?

Basically, they get 2-billion dollars worth of money per year.  Out of this....8-percent is for travel expenses.  Four-percent goes to actual medical 'stuff'. 

Unless you broke this down and showed the type of travel, the type of hotels, the type of per-diem.....then you don't know the rest of the story.

However, if the top 100 employees all travel in luxury (business-tickets, five-star hotels, nice limo-rides).....then I'd say they need some restructure and general supervision.  But you don't know the rest of this story.

4.  Does money and funding matter that much in an election?

No.  Smart people spend less, wisely and still win.  Stupid people still spend unwisely and lose (Hillary Clinton out-spent Trump in 2016, probably around 3 dollars to 2 dollars). 

5.  Does social distancing really matter?

Some Swedes will tell you that they've been social distancing for their entire life.  Some New Yorkers will tell you that it's physically impossible to social distance from people.

Here's the thing....if someone seems ill (cough, fever, etc).....you ought to keep a minimum of ten feet away from the person (that's Alabama-social-distancing).  We also have a stance called bull-distancing, where you estimate how fast this bull can react and stomp you in the ground, and generally it's 300 feet in a fairly open field.  If you are crippled-up....double that to 600 feet.

6.  Does a 'at-home-virus-test-kit' make things any different?

If it's 100-percent reliable.....good.  If it's less than 70-percent accurate and reliable....why bother?

7.  No one in North Korea has seen Mr Kim in the last couple of days....big-deal?

Generally, he's a traveling circus and all North Koreans beg for a chance to view him.  So, yeah, it's a big deal.

8.  Can Trump be a comedian?

He's a lot of things.  He might even be capable of doing a Shakespeare play, if you asked him.

9.  Best movies to watch while in isolation?

1936 My Man Godfrey, and 1934 Judge Priest (directed by John Ford)

10.  Can virus-isolation make you into a nut-case?

Well, if you just sit glued to the TV, consuming CNN hour-by-hour....yeah.  But if you have a list of forty odd-jobs to accomplish.....you won't even notice the isolation. 

$12,000 of Free Money?

So there is this chatter going on.....some Democrats in the House want to 'gift' you $2,000 a month (like the $1200 'gift') for six months.....as long as harsh times exist.

Odds of this passing?  In the House, I'd give it 90-percent chance.  The Senate?  It might not go....or they might trim it to $1,000 a month.

Some people would readily admit....they need some boost to survive the next month or two.  $2,000 would probably be helpful.

Some other folks would admit....they don't need the cash.  These are the people who'd get the $12,000 after six months, and likely blow it on some world-cruise, or some month-long trip to Australia.

Here's the kicker....the way that the wording is going....it'd be tax-free.  Seriously, they can't be that crazy.

CNN's Problem

Yep....on one day, you wake up and listen to the brilliant intellectual journalists tell you one thing, and the next day....you wake up and just start to grasp what they said....thinking either one of these guys is doped up, or both of them are doped up.

Then in the banner, you note....Trump DID KILL people, but the next day....Trump WILL KILL people (meaning he hasn't done it yet).

So you sit there and wonder....couldn't they just chill out and get to one central theme? 

Joe, the Interview, and the Virtual Convention

I went back and viewed an interview this week....via CNN, with Anderson Cooper, Doctor Sanjay Gupta, and Joe Biden.  It was a simple format, and extremely 'soft' questions.  All Joe had to do is just speak in easy solutions, and state some impact points.

It went badly.

It was obvious that Joe had the questions ahead of time, and his people had a written response.  Joe got about one sentence into the answer....then went 'gasping' for the rest of the thought/solution....looking down at the paper to remind him of what to say.  You could tell that both Cooper and Gupta were trying hard to keep their facial impressions and not act puzzled.

Joe was unfocused, and marginally able to 'perform'.

What's this lead onto?  There's not much doubt in me to believe in the latter part of 2019....Joe Biden had some type of mini-stroke, and his mental condition is deteriorating at a fairly good pace.   At 60 days ago, you could still see some lucid and positive moments with Joe and it was infrequent that he'd go 'off'.  I would make the estimate that in another sixty days....he'll be unable to make public appearances.  But that would put him up to the end of the primary and out of the 'mess'.

So lets talk about the virtual 'convention' that will occur.  It's a topic that no one in the news media wants to pick up or discuss.

My guess is that shortly after the last primary (Kentucky, 23 June)....states will begin to hold a session day.....where the 300-odd convention folks will meet in little groups around the state for a couple of hours.  They will 'elect' one or two individuals from each group, and the state's 300 group will likely drift down to around 20-total individuals.   I suspect all the states will generally go the same way.

The convention date is now 17 August.  Fifty of these groups will 'dial-in' and participate in the conference convention, with everyone else just 'watching'.

What I suspect is that Joe's family will announce on the first hour of the virtual convention that Joe accepts their vote, and has selected his VP.  It'll be a woman, and it's a fairly short list.  Yes, Hillary might be on the list, but there are a minimum of five I suspect.  The virtual convention will end after eight hours.  Speeches by Obama, Hillary, and a dozen other folks will be the highlight of the day.

Now, you notice....I said Joe's family will be the key figures at the convention.  I don't think Joe will show up, and that it'll turn into a rather odd deal where they say he's under the weather or has a fever.

A week into this new campaign period.....the family will appear with the DNC and just say Joe is finished, and can't continue.  The VP will step up....becoming the candidate, and at that point.....NY Governor Cuomo will be the VP.

No one in the news media will ask much about Joe's condition....it'll all be very hush-hush, and around a quarter of voters will ask what the hell was the whole primary about?

Joe appearing in public after mid-August?  No.  That's probably not going to happen. 

People will talk about this whole event for years to come and wonder how the news media just looked the other way.  It's amusing in some ways....it's tragic in other ways.

Friday 17 April 2020

Simply Observations

1.  Is it possible that Joe Biden had a mild stroke back in December/January, and his dementia-like condition goes back to that?

Generally, I've started to believe this is possible.  You'd have to line up off-time, and video tapes of his appearances.  The one thing I would agree upon....he's getting worse as each week goes by.

2.  What should we be doing during self-quarantine?

I would follow five rules: (1) Don't do anything illegal. (2) Reserve your drinking to after 12-noon. (3) Don't overdose on CNN.  (4) Ensure your gas-grill is clean and operational.  (5) Avoid temptation.

3.  Whats the statistical relationship between virus deaths and higher use of testing?

Well....the more you test, the more likely the infection rate rises (maybe double or triple) but that number also lessens the death statistical averages....meaning more people infected but a lot less dead.  If you are a mass hysterical news journalist.....you'd prefer as few tests as possible (in case you were curious).

4.  Does the bump up on unemployment checks mean anything?

No.  You could be in a company doing a two-week furlough (no pay) and sign up for state benefits.....only to reactivate yourself in two weeks....leaving the furlough side and working once again.  The system wasn't made to really handle these kind of conditions.

5.  Are dead people getting the Trump-checks?

Yes.  It's not a problem, unless dead people are spending the Trump-checks.....like for hookers or booze.

6.  Is Hunter Biden still working for that Chinese company?

Well....technically, his name is still listed with them.  Maybe he sent them a note to resign, and they just haven't received it yet.  Lets be honest, without that pay-check....he might be California-dirt-poor (better than Alabama-dirt-poor).

7.  Is it true that Ford is making a wrist gadget that will warn you if you are within 1.5 meters of another person?

Yes.  The problem is....in a town of 20,000.....you'd need twenty-thousand of these, and force each person to wear them.  It just ain't going to happen.

8. Have we hit the peak of the virus-chatter in DC, between Trump and the Democrats?

No.

At some point in the next sixty days, I expect several Senators and Representatives to fall ill from the virus, and this 'rotating circus' will disappear from the public stage.  After a dozen or so are buried.....things will quiet down in DC for the remainder of the year, with the exception of campaign chatter. 

9.  What's the path of new movies for 2020?

You better prepare yourself for virtually all movies scheduled for the summer to be pushed to spring of 2021.  There's even talk that a bunch of theaters will never re-open, and that down-streaming of new movies will be cooked-up in some fashion.  Even the Marvel productions are likely to get pushed back a year or two on their schedules. 

10.  Is it possible that a bunch of the 'old-guys' from Middle-Eastern countries that run things.....will die off, and trigger some massive stability problems?

Well....there's talk over a minimum of five countries getting into stability problems (Iran for example is a prime target).  Things might get a bit interesting. 

Why 21 January Matters in Virus History

This is the day that the WHO started a daily 'report' that tracked the numbers of the COVID-19 virus. 

What's interesting about this day....is that you already had the virus showing up on the west coast of the US, and in Italy (Lombardy/Milan region).

In simple terms....on this day of 21 January.....it was too late to control or isolate the virus.

The announcement of the Pandemic?  Well....11 March.  Yes, almost 7 weeks after daily WHO reports started up. 

Just curious things that you ought to keep in your mind. 

Thursday 16 April 2020

Cuomo Math Quiz

You woke up this morning and came to realize this math quiz problem.  The governor says that 30,000 ventilators aren't necessary.

Then he says that 100 went to Michigan, 50 went to Maryland, 435 were actually non-operational (meaning they were broke and waiting on parts), 888 were Chinese-made and only ran for 33 minutes before they overheated and had to be turned off for 3 minutes to cool, and 3,207 were actually in a unknown basement storage in Long Island that only three union guys know the actual physical address and they want $8,000 each to give you the address.

So the question is.....how many do you really have, that work, and are within the state of New York?

But the bigger question is.....can the governor himself do this math quiz?

Vent-A-Truck

It came up in the news this morning....Twitter via NY Governor Cuomo.....he's shipping 100 ventilators to Michigan, and 50 to Maryland.

So I had this reality TV series idea.

You have these four trucks which are loaded with ventilators, and crossing the country.....24-hours a day....7-days a week.

They arrive at some PR ceremony where this mayor has pictures taken with the ventilators.....then he slips them out of the back-door to another team, to take them overnight, to another mayor, who has another PR team to take more pictures.

Over a one-month.....over 3,000 mayors would sign for ventilators and claim great success.....while the four teams keep the ventilators continually moving.

I'd put the show on the History Channel.....right after Amish Mafia. 

The Odds You Might Be in a News Cult

Generally, there are supposed to be only religious cults.  Over the past decade, some folks have come to the general idea that philosophical cults can also exist.  So I've come to the point of suggesting that 'news' cults may exist as well.  They require seven conditions:

1.  Opposition to any critical thinking or reasoning capability.

2.  A preference exists to isolate people from beliefs or core groups.....then penalize them or throw fear into their heart for disbelief.

3.  Often seeking to gain 'pure' loyalty to an idea, a focus group, or political agenda.

4.  Continual use of references, data, or news to disconnect you from your family, social atmosphere, or political beliefs.  This often means using polling data to convince of a overwhelming loss, or a overwhelming victory.

5.  Challenging your mind on factual data.  This generally means creating alternate timelines which aren't factual, or laying out some fake story which seems true but lacks facts.

6.   The extreme cult members will never see the paycheck-problem arriving until it's too late.  They wake up....go into work, and then get told that no one is watching their product, and 15-percent of the 'team' have to go.  These people dismissed.....go out and find that a unrecognizable 'path' lays ahead, and their whole life was dependent on them selling cult-news, which oddly doesn't sell anymore.

7.  Finally, the cult-news team wants you so desperately to see them without regard to their behavior or audacity.  When you hint that that you are 'normal' and get corrected....the automatic reaction is to correct the person suggesting this, and let them know that they are just plain 'stupid'.  Even after a dozen events where behavior or audacity are noted....the cult-guy/gal still believes in their cult message.

The question to ask now....is there a deprogramming for this?  Maybe, but you'd have to go and spend a full year in Wyoming or some small Georgia town.....talking to regular people, and I just have some doubts that cult folks would be that eager to accomplish that. 

Humble Observations: 16 April 2020

1.  Is there a serious disparity with blacks and health?

Statistically, the answer is generally yes....but it also has a dozen factors which figure into this.

First, a lot of this is dependent on where you live.  In rural areas of the south.....blacks and whites (yep, it doesn't matter) are getting marginal 2-star care, and it's because of where you live.  The same can be said for areas of Idaho, New Mexico or the Dakotas.

Second, a fair sum of blacks have a diet which isn't helpful, and they frankly don't want your advice on eating carrots, salads, or less sugar.

Third, if you counted in alcohol consumption and drug-use, black males might be regarded as a high-risk group for health issues when they get into their 50s and 60s.

It's fair to talk about this disparity, but at the end of the discussion....other than handcuffing some folks and dragging them along, what exactly do you intend to do.....to equalize or change the outcome of this data?

2. True or false:   Did the CIA actually warn their workers around six weeks ago NOT to take the anti-Malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine for the virus?

Yes.  They made up a health note and suggested 'their' people NOT take the drug.  It's a bit odd and to be honest, the CIA normally doesn't ever offer health advice other than suggesting you should quit smoking, and you should lessen your alcohol consumption.

So it's a bit odd that their health-nurse or health-doctor spoke up on this topic and suggested this.

I would also suggest that once this got put out.....a bunch of CIA folks probably asked stupid questions, and the whole thing disappeared real quick.

3.  Is it possible in NY City to be shot forty-two times, and the Coroner assigns death by COVID-19?

Yeah, that's pretty much the case.

4.  Is it just odd that some governors and mayors are coming across like miniature Hitler-figures?

Listen, for some of these people, it's the first time in their life that they've had to manage something or write down some directives, so it's a learning process.

Now, it would bother me that a year from now....they haven't learned any lessons, and they are still acting like miniature Hitler-figures.

5.  Wasn't it just pure 'evil' for Trump to show that 4-minute video at the press conference?

Oddly, it's a video of news people saying things....NOT him or Biden.  If they hadn't said all those foolish things, he'd have nothing to show.

6.  Is there any proof that masks are that beneficial?

Ironman would say so.

7.  Would a 'President Hillary Clinton' be up and doing the virus press conferences like Trump?

No.  She would appoint the VP to carry the load.  Most of the reason is this coughing issue of hers and she wouldn't last more than fifteen minutes before sipping water and trying to prevent the cough.  Eventually, some idiot would have asked if she had the virus since she's been cough so much.

Please note, this was a hypothetical question, and a hypothetical answer.

8. What will happen to the WHO once the Trump order is effective.....to cut off the US contribution to their budget?

Well...$400-odd-million is the budget factor, and I'm guessing that they will have a little meeting and appoint some idiot to come up with an emergency plan to lay off people.  Naturally, the more worthless people will likely stay on for the next six to twelve months, until the bosses realize that they've kept the wrong people.

I expect the House to have hearings and try another impeachment deal because of the order, but that's mostly a joke.

9.  Any truth to the story that San Francisco's Board of Supervisors signed up to giving away 8,000-plus hotel rooms to homeless folks?

Yep, it was passed (unanimously) Tuesday evening.  Emergency order....requiring the city to acquire a MINIMUM of 8,250 hotel rooms for three affected groups (homeless folks, medical folks, discharged virus patients).  City is giving the managers roughly two weeks to acquire the rooms.

Cost factor?  Don't even bother bringing it up....this will more or less crap out the city in a matter of twelve months.  Figure the rough treatment by the homeless crowd.....the damages to the rooms, and the period of repair required.

I would forecast at least twenty hotels in the city will never be able to open and operate as a hotel again.....so this is a damages type future event, where a court will pay them the value of the building.

In simple terms.....you property owners in the city will be handed a bill in 2021....probably doubling your property tax.

Added to this....let's be honest, tourism in SF is dying at the present rate of homeless people crapping in the streets, so these hotels weren't expecting much of a trend for the rest of 2020 or 2021.

10.  Does the President have TOTAL POWER over the states?

Unless the states declare that they have TOTAL POWER over Washington DC, the House, and the Senate.....then Trump is correct.  The emphasis for well over a hundred years is that states wanted to deny they had any power or stamina.

It's kinda like the Marvel movie where Captain America could have picked up Thor's hammer anytime he wanted, but he chose to look puny and weak....until the right moment to act on Thanos.

So I put the ball back into the court of the fifty Governors and the 50 state-houses....do you want to correct the situation and finally let people know that you do have TOTAL POWER over DC, or do you want to play out the Captain America and the hammer routine....looking continually weak and ineffective?   Your choice.

I don't think they want to show that they have more power than Trump, the House or the Senate has.  Once you admit this 'power'....why would you need to funnel all this cash and tax revenue to DC for some fake TOTAL POWER gimmick there?

Wednesday 15 April 2020

The Dismal Awe We Have

Generally, if you want some kind of insight into farming, you go to one of two people.....a farmer or a Farm Ag-Agent. 

Generally, if you want some insight on illicit drugs, you go to a dope-dealer or a licensed doctor. 

Generally, if you want some information or insight on transmissions, you go to a mechanic.

Generally, if you want insight on women, you go to a honky tonk bartender, or someone who has been married five or more times.

So I don't have much in a positive way to say when I stand there and have to listen to some Hollywood idiot talk about anything other than their recent movie, or the renovation of their Hollywood mansion.  Their insight on the environment, politics, the economy, or jungles collapsing in Peru...isn't of any value to me.

To be honest, I don't remember this being a big deal in the 1970s or 1980s.  It just seems like some 'creatures' wandered out of the woods in the 1990s....got all hyped-up and then convinced the public that their opinion mattered.

Presently?  I've reached the stage where the 'mute-button' seems to be helping me with this insight problem.  I wish some Hollywood dimwit would come out and talk more about the mute-button, and convince people to use it more often.

Just Humble Observations

1.  Where is the stock market in 100 days?

If you had $100,000 invested back in January....it was probably hitting $72,000 back three weeks ago, and near $88,000 right now today.

Just me saying this, but I think most business operations will be open in the next two to three weeks, and the stock market will settle.  At the 100-day point, you might be near $94,000 of value, and slide through the rest of the year near that....with dividends coming in.

Here's the thing, under a poor President, with high negativity by the news people....your situation would be twice as bad, and it'd be three years before you even got back to the $90,000 level.  The bad news here is that your 401k plan did take a hit, and it's part of the long-term goal to just keep playing.

2.  Will this idiot governor for Michigan get 'recalled'?

Yeah....it's a pretty sure bet at this point.

The sad thing for her....had she just paid attention and done just a couple of things....she would have been a noted figure for 2024 or 2028.  Now?  If recalled....she's finished.

3.  Whats with all this ID chatter?

Some idiot wants to believe that people (they never specify who or where they are) don't have an ID.

So, you take Alabama (3,765,887 adults in the state in 2020, new Census figures).  There are 15,500 folks (2013 numbers, average) sitting in Alabama prisons.....so they don't have an ID (we can pretend that).  That leaves us with 3,750,000 folks left who are over 18 and ought to have an ID of some type.

So you go to the belly of the 'beast' (Birmingham) and wander around....to find around 400 folks there who are mostly homeless and frankly don't need an ID.  Throughout the rest of the state?  Maybe 1,600 more folks.

The bulk of the state....99.9-percent of people, probably have a ID of some type.  If you wanted to make this interesting, for folks who don't have a license.....offer up a free state ID, and then offer folks a $10 Bar-B-Q coupon as a free part of the deal.

Yeah, this is mostly all BS chatter to say folks don't have an ID.

4.  Any truth that fresh air and natural light stall the virus?

Well.....there's this study done.  They say if you have air flow through a room (like your windows open) and natural light (not bulbs)....it matters.

Now, all of these farmers will tell you the same 'wisdom' and say that's been known for over 200 years.

5.  Are voters getting all chatty about a President who feels their 'pain'?

Sit and pause over this.....you can ask a hundred folks about their 'pain' and get 100 responses.

Some will tell you it's intensely private....thinking you are talking over their hemorrhoid problem, or the spanking they took from the next-door neighbor lady.

Some will tell you it's being handled by a fancy psychological doctor, and mostly dealing with stress or depression.  Their wife ran off, or their dog died recently.

Some will confess through four beers about their 'pains' and you will eventually wish you hadn't asked.

Then finally, you might find five guys who just wish the President could feel their 'pain', but they think he's too involved with lusty stuff with the wife, or he just can't understand problems like Hillary could have.

Yeah, when some dimwit reporter talks like this 'pain' thing....he's mostly on a BS topic.

6.  Can most Americans spell Hydroxychloroquine?

NO.

7.  Do you ever get fed up with the reporters at the White House Press Conference?

No, but I wish that Trump had a button on the podium and if he hit it.....some sidedoor would open up and two clowns would emerge and toss a cream pie at some CNN reporter.

8.  Is there any chance that meth or opioids are selling at a lesser rate right now?

No one is suggesting that.  Begs the question of where folks have the money, and the higher risk factor of dying, from the virus and meth use.

9.  Is there such a thing as 'essential'?

Some folks would suggest that NCAA football is essential.  Some would suggest that casinos are essential.  Some would suggest that churches are not essential.  Some would suggest that Starbucks is not essential.  Seems to me that this is a terrible thing to get into a discussion about, unless you got a bottle or two of gin as we discuss the matter.

10.  Are we now finally all done with the Biden-Burisma 'chatter'?

Well.....NO.  If you follow the Senate talk.....there's going to be a reported issued on Burisma in mid-summer.  At the very least....Hunter will look look like a used-car salesman acting as a CEO of a typewriter company.  I doubt if Joe comes out of this report looking good.

However, within six weeks after that report.....then we will be done completely and no one in five years will remember the word 'Burisma' and Hunter will be some reality-TV star in the hills of Idaho. 

Tuesday 14 April 2020

Just Humble Observations

1.  Isn't this idiotic that Bush political strategist Rick Wilson is now endorsing Joe Biden, who he dumped upon for almost an entire decade? 

Well....no one is really asking Rick for advice.....nor does he appear much on TV.  So if you wanna be noticed.....you gotta say something crazy.

2.  Is 'Doctor Doom' on his way out?

I expect the news conferences to lessen by the end of next week (maybe three per week) and he'll disappear entirely by the end of May....back to his job, and probably retire by the end of 2020.  If Trump disliked the guy....he'd be fired already.

3.  Do police need to monitor church parking lots, and take tag numbers?

Maybe it's just me, but I think you could lay off 40-percent of the police in the nation and get the same level of response and security, with less cost involved.  All this tag-number 'taking'....just makes them look like some 5th-grade pretender cops.

4.  Any truth to higher pollution rates triggering higher infection rates of the virus?

Yes.  And this ought to trigger you to ask if NY City has air pollution that folks haven't ever chatted much about.

5.  Wouldn't it have been better for the Democrats if Twitter had never been invented?

One can take a long speculative look at how Twitter helps to pass 'come-backs' by GOP/Trump enthusiasts around, and it's sharpened the the Trump-machine to absolute maximum level.

6.  Is there anyone left who cares about celebrity opinions?

I know the people in Hollywood, and New York think otherwise, but we are at a point where three-quarters of the nation frankly.....don't give a damn....about what 'such-and-such' says on politics, the environment, the economy, or technology.  They should stick to their show or movie-traffic, and try to stay sober and 'clean'.

7.  What is the real average on toilet paper usage?

Science people analyze this kind of issue, and they say a house with 2.5 people uses around 409 rolls  per year.  Frankly, I find that a bit excessive.   But if you use this number.....then you need to purchase 40 rolls every single month.

8.  How screwed up is the Postal Service, during this virus period?

It's like one of those Scooby-Doo mystery episodes.....you really don't know.  They claim if just 10-percent of the employees gets the virus....all of the functions would start to fall apart.  Some say that if a single day was not achieved on the mail-delivery system.....massive chaos would reign across America.

Could we go to a four-day-a-week delivery, and have the service people open the Postal Center on Saturdays (all-day)?  Most folks say they'd have no problem.

If there was some 'gift' to keep them afloat.....how much would be necessary?  Three-billion?  That's why the whole seems more like Scooby-Doo than a real business operation.

9. What's the main difference between the way in Germany that people reacted, and the way in the US that people have reacted?

Well....around 50-percent of Americans refuse to participate or play by ban-rules. Then the same crowd brings up the Constitution, and starts talking 'rights'.  You just don't have that type of chatter in Germany.

10.  Is there going to be a 'bailout-program' for the news media folks in this next package that the House develops?

Some people say in a strong way....yes.  It might go up into the 500-million range.  Evidence or facts?  Almost none.  It's just chatter.  The problem is that people in general (going on for a decade now) are reading less in terms of newspapers or magazines.  They are also cutting out CNN in a big way and the 3 major networks to a lesser degree.  The question to ask here.....if the trend continues after the virus goes away......will there be a second, third and fourth bailout-program going on.....for decades?