Joe Logic

From last night's chatter with Joe Biden......this one episode unfolded with the mother of some 8-year-old kid who was transgender.  The mom wanted to be sure that Joe was onboard with this stuff.  To which Joe said: "....being transgender is a choice, that children "decide" to be trans."

All day, this has been on my mind.  Eight-year old kid.....happy mother from the stuff....Joe indicating that kids need to decide on this.

So, it finally occurred to me that this was a logical moment to think about the whole landscape.  If this kid is capable of making the decision, it ought to lead onto:

- Marriage at 8

- Tattoos at 8

- Voting (yes even at age 8)

- Drivers license by 8

- Buying cigarettes', booze, and beer

- Traveling to Mexico alone

- Wrapping up school by the 4th grade

Call it Joe-logic or just plain common sense....but we just don't need to stand in the way of a 8-year-old kid.  If Karl wanted to hook up with the lunch-room-lady, or try jumping off the barn roof (at 40 foot)....let him make the decision.  If Karl wanted to travel up to Alaska and hunt bears....let him.  If Karl wanted to perform some bronco-riding....let him. 

This would be a whole new world, where you'd have folks prepared for real life by age sixteen.  

The Leg Discussion

 Throughout my Air Force years, I probably got a chance to go out to the weapons range on twenty-five occasions with the M-16.  Just at Tucson alone, along the 4th year, the organization had like 60 extra reservations given to them, and nowhere near enough folks to send.  My boss didn't care, so I spent six days over a single month....firing the weapon.  

As for shooting the M-9 pistol?  One single morning out of the 22 years.  We had a two-hour class, and roughly 90 rounds of ammo to get orientated with the M-9.  

This morning, I sat over a comment made by Joe Biden....on how to handle criminals (as a policeman).  What he basically wanted cops to do....if confronted and the situation was out of control, then you'd aim at the guys legs.

You know....like that guy constantly did in the TV series....Person of Interest.  Virtually every single bad guy on the show was always wounded by John Reese (the character) in such a fashion.

I pondered over Joe's suggestion and my morning at the range with the M-9.  What you tended to figure out....if you were going to fire the pistol....you kinda wanted the 'threat' to be within one-hundred feet, and preferably within forty feet.  Aiming at just the legs?  Depending on the angle....you probably are aiming enough to blow the guy's balls off, or hit the right vein....to render him dead in six minutes anyway.

But at forty feet....if you don't hit the guy on the first three or four rounds, and he's still advancing....you got two seconds to think about the situation, disregard Joe Biden's advice, and just hit the guy, period.

The problem here, I think Joe has watched a lot of the TV show Person of Interest, and thinks that in a stressful situation.....this joker advancing on the cop....will stand still and let you shoot him in the leg.

Then you ask yourself in this scenario.....left leg or right leg.  Personally, I favor my left leg a good bit over the right leg.  This ought to beg a national discussion....do we teach cops this, and if so....can we mandate they only shoot the right leg?  

So you sit down in a pub with a dozen police, and explain Joe's scenario, and the leg-shooter thing, and wait about six seconds for them to start laughing.  They absolutely won't take the idea serious.

To end this silly topic....I stood and remember the end of the M-9 morning on the range.  My basic feeling....in any general situation....it just seemed logical to have a M-16 rifle instead (with a 30-round magazine).  You just needed one of the 30 rounds to hit the guy advancing on you.  This way, you didn't worry about his intentions, his legs, or idiot politicians.  

Observing Joe's Town Hall Event

 Over the past couple of hours, I've watched about six clips (probably totaling 45 minutes of the two-hour event).  Four observations:

1.  Not a single word asked about Hunter.  Dismal performance by the moderator.  It was like some journalist asking Grandma to tell how she baked cookies, and never challenging Grandma on the sugar content. 

2.  This question by the young black gentleman, which I felt was legit....was given a basic non-answer.  The black guy said he didn't feel the passion to vote for Joe and was considering just staying home (not-voting).  

Joe basically failed, and I think this guy walked out....probably had a beer or two later, and just finally assembled the data to say 'no' (he won't be voting at all).  You might be seeing twenty-percent of the normal Democratic black vote...just not showing up.

3.  Joe did seem to be alert and focused.  I didn't see him stumble at all.

4.  I just found it odd....Joe sat 12 feet away from the moderator, and probably 30 feet minimum from everyone in the audience, and you can't arrange a face-to-face debate situation with Trump?  As they kept pulling the camera back and you could see the two on the stage or Joe within range of the audience....this kept coming back to bother me.  That's why I said enough with the watching of the video sets. 

It wasn't a bad town-hall, and maybe Joe did 'OK'.  But on that one black question....an enormous failure to get the black vote. 

Twitter and Facebook's Open Pit

 Twitter started up in 2006, two years after Facebook started.  I don't think in the development stage of either media group.....they ever thought much over politicization or being tagged as propaganda vehicles.  They just felt....people would comment on their lives, their jobs, their thrills, and share stupid cat-pictures.  Somewhere in the mix....money would be made.

So you move up to 2008, and this general feeling after the election....Barak Obama's team found some clues to use both Facebook and Twitter.  No one can say that it was a big deal, but obviously on college campuses.....these two platforms got the Obama 'brand' out in front of people.  The Hillary people....I think....screwed up by not grasping the impact.  As for John McCain's people....they were still living in the 1980s, and felt that newspapers were the 'charm' of their campaign.

Trump?  Oddly enough....there in his early sixties....he gravitated over to Twitter.  His short blunt chatter had a great fit on Twitter.  

So today.....Facebook and Twitter are standing there with a problem.  They can't ride the 'wave' out to the future.  They've anchored themselves as a open but private property platform.  Their profit machine?  It is entirely attached to people being hyped-up over politics....both left and right.  If you removed the news angle and political chatter....you could cut 50-percent of the profit overnight with the new 'giants'.

Dodging this whole Hunter story and creating a mess to clean up?  Twitter and Facebook are now stuck having to explain things to the Senate, and it won't go in a pretty way.  For Jack and Twitter?  I suspect that Jack will give notice in December, and quietly leave the company by early spring of 2021.  I don't think he wants to be part of the clean-up crew anymore.  

As for Facebook?  I think they will end up accepting some break-up of the empire in 2021, and the frustration crowd will just more hostile and fed-up with the whole social media game.  

Just This Odd Thing of Hunter's Emails

 In the midst of what the NY Post published, there's this one email where Hunter says....50-percent of what he makes....goes to 'dad'.  So if Hunter was pulling in a minimum of 1.5-million a year....Joe got some cut of the money.

But this begs the question....if so, how does Joe explain this on yearly tax submissions to the IRS and pay taxes on this?

Or is the real question....did Joe pay taxes on any part of the money?

This would open a whole new level of discussions....if any part of this were true. 

Trump and the Town-Hall (NBC-Style)

Went back to review the tape on this Trump-NBC townhall. Five observations:

1.  It went sixty minutes.  Maybe I was expecting more, but then that was 'free' time that they gave Trump.

2.  Savannah Guthrie, on my moderator scale....was maybe a '7' at best.  She should have allowed the audience to ask more questions.  About 30 minutes into it....it seemed to be a debate situation....Guthrie versus Trump.  It just felt odd from that point on.

3.  Weird question of the night...over Q-ANON.  With all the 'mighty' powers of the established news media of the past four years.....they've used maybe 4 ounces of 'strength' to figure out what Q-ANON is.  If you asked people to rate issues....this goes to the 500 to 700 level, and frankly....no one much cares.

4.  Interruption scale....near '9' on my scale.  If Guthrie thought it tripped him up....no, it demonstrated that he stayed on the topic and didn't goof up.  In some ways, it added points to Trump.

5.  That weird 'nodding' lady over Trump's shoulder?  As he answered questions....she nodded.  Subliminal gimmick?  Just makes you wonder.  

Just didn't feel like a townhall theme....more of a debate....Guthrie versus Trump.  Guthrie lost, in my humble opinion.  

'Daniel' Trump

 I saw this image today....Trump painted in a den of lions (like the Daniel from the Bible story).

Trump stood there, gazing at the light through the cell windows, and the lions just wandered around him...unable to react or take him down.  Hindered, perhaps.

Somewhere along about age seven or so as a kid....I remember getting this 'Daniel in the cage with lions' story.

Naturally, being a skeptic even then...I asked how one would do this safely.  The response was....it just happened and you need to accept the story.  It didn't sell that well to me.

Some guy sat down and made up some art....with Trump playing the role of Daniel. I saw it yesterday and kinda admired it.

The thing about it....if you went out to some flea-market operation and had 500 of these mounted on a frame....big 2x3 ft size....they'd all sell out in a matter of an hour.  Some guys would put it in their garage as they came home at night.  Some would mount by the dining table.  Some would put in the tool shop where they could quietly admire it on weekends.

In some weird sense, Trump has become this legend of sorts. 

There was some turning point in the early 1960s....where JFK became a legend.  Folks drifted around for a while, and Clinton achieved legend status (to some degree).  Twelve years ago....President achieved legend status.  I think for Trump's situation....it's awful rare (Teddy Roosevelt was probably the last Republican with legend status).

This is the issue at hand....with everyone against him...it is a den of lions scene.  And as much as the lions ought to be capable of taking him down, it just hasn't occurred.  So these lions have started to look very lean, and thin.  They've almost reached the status of being 'old and non-circus' type lions....set for retirement than show-status.