If Covid Had Arrived in 1971?

 I grew up in a highly rural environment of Alabama in the late 1960s/early 1970s.  If you had approached me in the 7th grade....saying this terrible virus was threatening everyone, and you wanted me to attend school wearing a mask....I would have sat there for a while and contemplated the landscape.

We had an awful lot of farting that would occur in the winter months, with windows closed and a serious fume problem brewing between 9 AM and 10 AM.  I might have welcomed the mask mandate to some degree....lessening the fart 'fog' effect.

We had comedian or two in the class....who would have worn the mask for a full hour and collapsed on the floor a few minutes before 'break'....claiming a lack of oxygen.  After forty of these fainting spells....this would have gotten onto the nerves of teachers.

We would have had sound problems when teachers quizzed Karl or Marvin, and their muffled response (intentionally done) would have sounded like South Park's Kenny McCormick.  After five or six back-and-forths with the teacher telling Karl that his response is not understood....the teacher would moved onto Marvin, and repeated the same game.

Kids mask-kissing in the hall at break-time?  That would have been a quick rule creation....that mask-kissing was forbidden.

We would have had a sub bus-driver every couple of months.  It would have been some farmer....with minimum patience for kids, and a heavy foot for the braking. 

Sub-teachers would have appeared, with minimum background or experience.  

Within six months, the school would have admitted the whole thing is a failure and virus ban-rules be discarded.  

When You Dissolve a Legend

 As a kid (rural Alabama in the late 1960s/early 1970s).....I was fascinated with comic books.  About 90-percent of my collection (into the hundreds) were DC comics.....9-percent were Marvel (I just didn't get in Ironman or Thor that much)....with 1-percent being Archie/Sad Sack/Secret Hearts 'crap'.  

In an era of marginal science fiction....comics were the only real escape (in my mind).

About seven months ago....DC Comics decided that they needed a reboot on Superman.  So they went to his 'son', who happens to be a climate activist/asylum supporter and dating a male reporter for the Daily Planet.  This guy also liked women, so he was bisexual (at least the intent was to make you think this).

What happened to sales of the issue?  It dropped like a rock (number 17 on the sales list for the month).  They sold around 68,000 copies since July on that first introduction issue.  Cost of an average monthly comic today?  $4 roughly (more or less).  So after you figure the book shop 'take'....the comic guys generally made around $200k for that one monthly issue (half of that is ink, paper, and shipping cost).  

Total failure for the bisexual son of Superman who is a environmentalist?  I won't say that.....just that they seem to have decided that a lesser audience is a better audience.  Once you tell the story team that there are zero bonusses for the year and no pay advancements....about half of them will plan a review of their resume for future employment elsewhere.

How far will this trend go?  In today's world, with comics running $4 each...a kid might be more picky about what they are going to pick up and read.    The days where my mom would hand me $1, and I bought eight comics on a grocery trip (12 cents each in the 1960s) are long gone.  No mom is going to hand $32 to a kid to buy eight comics, and that kid is going to be awful picky about what he's buying/reading.  If he's not fighting aliens, Lex Luthor, or hunting down time-travel bandits....it's probably not worth reading.  

Slow-Joe Rules Coming?

 I noticed yesterday....a long piece discussed by Mayor-Pete (our transportation guru for the government).

So, there's a new federal agenda being pursued...slower speed limits and expanding bike lanes.

It's basically 5-billion dollars for projects that center on slowing traffic, building bike/bus lanes, building more overpasses, and improving lighting.  

How fast will the money be spent/'gifted-out'?  I would take a guess that every penny will be gone by the end of 2022.  

For those small towns of 500 folks who never had street lights?  Some mayor will figure out the paperwork....acquire $150,000 and put forty street lamps....which no one in the town really desired or come to appreciate.

The slower speed deal?  I'll bet over 10-percent of the 5-billion is spent on studies alone.  Some 300-page report will tell you what you could have guessed....that slower speeds lessen accident rates, but also create more tension/stress....adding another twenty minutes onto your daily journey to work.

The bulk of this going to urbanization and its issues?  Yeah.  It wouldn't surprise me if more than half of the money goes to twenty of the biggest cities in America.

Biden's Endeavor Into the Digital Pony World

 I sat this afternoon and read through a business piece: 'Biden Administration to develop regulations over cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin) and NFTs within the next couple of weeks.  Reason given?  National security.

Then I just started laughing.  

Odds of controlling Bitcoin?  Zero.  It's too late.

Odds of controlling NFTs?  I'd give it around a 1-percent chance.

Bitcoin was developed within the concept of being non-regulated.  Unless you take down the internet.....there's no way to hold back or control Bitcoin.

In fact, my question right now.....what idiot in the Treasury Department suggested this, and what idiots within Wall Street convinced Biden to take this move?

As for NFTs?  If you went to a custom designer and he built 32 unicorns for a particular digital world, and valued them on day one at $1,500 each.  They might be worth $10,000 within a year.  Can you imagine writing the regulation to cover a non-existent fantasy unicorn, and how it holds values or decreases value?  You can't.

An entire division of five-hundred people in IRS or the Treasury Department....heading up control of NFTs?  If this occurs....it's a joke. 

So, for 2022.....I'd put this Biden agenda item as the number one most stupid thing on the list so far, and worthless.  

Biden, A Supreme Court Judge and Filters

 President Biden now has to go out and find someone who qualifies for the Supreme Court Judge.

So, onto the filters.

It has to be a woman (don't ask why).

It has to be a black woman.

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college (a law degree from University of Mississippi probably won't work).

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left (just being moderate is not enough).

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left, who is financially secure (not having declared bankruptcy in their life).

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left, who is financially secure, who has not said some really stupid crap on Twitter or Facebook in the past decade.

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left, who is financially secure, who has not said some really stupid crap on Twitter or Facebook in the past decade, who can safely sit in front of 15-odd stupid US Senators to answer 300 questions.

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left, who is financially secure, who has not said some really stupid crap on Twitter or Facebook in the past decade, who can safely sit in front of 15-odd stupid US Senators to answer 300 questions, who doesn't have two or three sexual scandals marginally hidden.  

It has to be a black woman with a law degree from a prestigious college who is a fair bit to the left, who is financially secure, who has not said some really stupid crap on Twitter or Facebook in the past decade, who can safely sit in front of 15-odd stupid US Senators to answer 300 questions, who doesn't have two or three sexual scandals marginally hidden, who actually has a legal mind capable of making judgements.  

Once you establish this filter, I'd say it's near impossible to find any black woman who can fill the filter.

From the ten-odd black women on Biden's 'go-to' list....each probably is sitting there and worried that she might be asked, and have two or three things which she really doesn't want to have come up in the committee hearing. 

Just admitting that they went to a mental health doctor back in 2008 for stress issues, or had a DWI in 2004 at college, or married to a guy who is into police-uniform role-play situations for kinky stuff....would be a serious problem.

So, if you haven't been entertained enough in 2021....just sit back....this ought to be fairly interesting.  

Weapons Story

This morning....I read a piece saying that for 2021.....there were 5.4 million first-time gun buyers across the US.

The real shocker?  One-third of them were women.

No one said much about the states and how the numbers divide up....but I would guess the bulk of the women were from southern states.

What the women bought?  Anyone's guess.  

Observations

 1.  WaPo wrote some piece to ask the question....'just how many Covid deaths would we be OK with'.  

I'd like to see more journalism like this.  Ask the question 'just how many corrupt politicians are we OK with', or 'just how many left-leaning journalists are we OK with', or 'just how many dimwit Hollywood types are we fond of', or 'just how crapped-up is the NFL at this point', or 'just how bad is the NCAA bowl process', or 'just how stupid are high school kids upon graduation', or 'just how many elements of the Baltimore city government are corrupted'.  

Me personally.....if you have been living a pretty unhealthy lifestyle (two-pack a day smoker, meth-user, serious deficiency in vitamin D for past 30 years of life, half-a-bottle of whisky perday, greasy/fatty food diet)....then your death won't be that disturbing to me.  

2.  Newt Gringrich says that the 6 Jan committee from the House, with AG Garland.....could be brought up in a January 2023 House committee (Republican-run) and face federal charges, with jail-time possible for various members/Garland.  

Five years ago, I would have laughed over this idea.  Presently?  I'd say that civil rights might be abused in various ways, and some of these House members may think they can walk away in January 2023 without being dragged into court.  

3.  Some new poll says Joe Biden has dropped 30 points in the past six month among black voters.  The DNC may have significant worries building up over the mid-terms....that reach further than House/Senate situations.....it might affect internal state politics in various states (hint: Georgia).

4.  Just how much is Avenatti is accused of stealing from Stormy Daniels?

Well....$300k.  In this case in court.....does he even have the money to pay Daniels back?  I'd strongly say 'no'.....unless he has the money hid somewhere.  So this is a wasted court case?  More or less.  

5.  White House saying that in the event of an invasion of the Ukraine....there will be NO airlift to get American civilians out.  Repeat of Afghanistan?  Yeah.

I would say this....no one knows the number of Americans in the Ukraine (the size of Texas), but I would take a wild guess it's upwards to 5,000....most of which are businessmen.  

If you gaze at a map....to the far east of the Ukraine....lies the Dnieper River.  I think there's zero chance that the Russians intend to cross that river, and their primary aim is just this far SE chunk of land along the coast.  

So this idea of an evacuation being necessary?  Pretty near zero, if you ask me.

6.  Are the 'Patriot Front' or militia groups real?

In the past six months....a number of people have begun to look at the make-up of these right-wing groups, and suggest that they exist in some real 'world' but there are probably some FBI undercover or 'front-men' in the various fronts.  It may be the same way for the BLM people....the Antifa folks, etc.  

Just for the record, if you didn't know it.....Adolph Hitler was hired by the Bavarian Secret Police after WW I....to spy on a new political organization forming in Munich....called the Nationalist Socialist Party (NAZIs).  All he was supposed to was attend meetings and report back to the Secret Police 'bosses'.  Things got kinda crapped up and he took the NAZIs to the next level of operation.  

Ten Things I'd Like See Done on TV

 1.  Every year....at least one-hundred to two-hundred 'pilots' are done, and 98-percent fail.  I'd like to see some network go and pull out a hundred of these failures (since 1960), and go rework the failed pilot in this modern era.  New review, new actors, new strategy. 

2.  I'd like to see some pioneer reality series called 1888, where you put four modern families in a 1888 landscape for six months.  You have to wear the authentic clothing....shop at the general store....sleep in a marginally heated cabin, and entertain at the 1888 level.

3.  I'd like to see a Ernest Hemingway comedy set up in Key West....1928-period.  A bar, some intellectual guests coming and going, and alcohol flowing while illegal.  

4.  I'd like to see a 20-something-year-old junior reporter given one question, and sent out each week to ask that question of regular people, for a 30-minute show.  We might learn what real people think.

5.  I'd like to see a network created called 1930s-1940s, where only movies of that era are shown.  Maybe around 7 PM....run a 30 newscast of that day in 1936, or 1946.....done in B/W of course, reading off a WaPo or NY Times articles.

6.  I'd like to see a reality show where some urban family is sent to a highly rural area for six months, and a very rural family is sent off to NY City for the same period.  Talk about shock for 30 minutes each week.

7.  Create a 20-episode series to talk about the twenty biggest scandals of the 1900 to 1920 era.  Two-hour pieces, with historians explaining in detail how each incident started and ended.  

8.  Do a six-hour mini-series on how an American was drafted in 1917, and sent off to France.

9.  Recreate Sanford and Son, with Jamie Foxx playing Fred.  Give Fred a chance to reflect and be serious once in a while showing his wit.

10.  Do a five-hour mini-documentary piece on the 1927 Yankees.  

Biden, 60-Percent and 2024

 Someone did a poll....asking people if they'd vote for Joe Biden in 2024.  60-percent said 'NO'.  

What happens between now and 2024?  I expect more problems to emerge....perhaps a 2023 impeachment event (maybe even a second attempt if the first fails by the end of the year).  This 60-percent 'NO' group will expand by the end of 2022 to around 75-percent (my humble take on this).

But here's the problem.  If you were the top three Democratic contenders in the spring of 2024 for the primary run.....do you disavow everything Joe pushed, or double-up?  

Are you going to say Joe wasn't progressive enough or extreme enough?  Or will you contend that Joe Biden was wildly all over the place....with wild ideas that wouldn't get enough House/Senate support?

I can see various problems here....taking a campaign up and trying to say 'I'm-better-than-Joe-Biden' but more extreme.

I noticed this past week....someone made a analytical comment that the list of typical 'outstanding' Democratic governors who might be nomination-capable....are exceptionally weak.  If you go and look at the House/Senate....there's probably three or four people who I would give a fair chance to.  The odds that you might have a nobody appear out of thin air?  Someone like Ms. Obama or Oprah?  Well...I'd say at this point, it's a 50-50 chance.  

All of this in November to reshape the House/Senate?  Yes, without any doubt.

Two Observations

 Over the past week, I watched 'American Made' (2017) for the first time, and binge-watched the 4th season (just out) of Ozark.

I have to admit...American Made is fairly interesting.  True story?  Well....it led you down to this path and begged questions by the end.  So I spent an hour after the movie ended....reviewing the actual history.

To be honest, there's around twenty things that occur in the movie....which have no relationship to reality.  I eventually came to a point....asking why bother making something like this and hinting that it's based on true events.

On the 4th season of Ozark?  Well....they released around two-thirds of the season, and the rest come in three or four months.  It is the final bit of the series, and the shocker for me....while there was an awful lot of killing throughout season one, two and three.....just about everyone that is alive at the beginning of season four.....by episode six of the new season....is either dead or in prison.  

Yes, if you had any favorite characters at the end of season three, you probably are fairly disappointed in how the series is going.  

I'm not condemning Ozark (easily compared to the Sopranos).  I'm just saying that they are running out of characters.  

What's The Difference Between Strongly-Approve and Strongly-Disapprove?

Some folks did a review of President Biden and asked in a poll.....how many strongly approve of his performance, and strongly disapprove.

Strongly approve?  20-percent.

Strongly disapprove?  47-percent.

The rest are in the middle....either with no opinion, marginally approve, or marginally approve....which amounts to 33-percent.

In most countries, with coalition governments....there would be fallout going on, and a likely collapse of the coalition situation.....meaning a new election within 90 days.  Luckily in the US....we can just keep going, and likely escalating the negativity even more.

In this case....only one out of every five really feel confident in the actions of President Biden and the achievements of the past year.  In some ways, this is a super positive thing....that these people can overlook mistakes or issues and just accept the current trends.  

Is part of this trend the issue that fewer people watch CNN than ever before?  Well....yes, that probably is one of the ten different issues going on and part of the negative landscape.  If we could just find ways to force people into viewing CNN more often....this could be a great idea for the Biden-team.

The fact that Joe promised a lot in 2020, and has yet to really deliver?  Well.....yeah, that is probably another big issue.

Any chances this will reverse in 2022?  That's really a big part of the situation....people can't expect much to improve.

Time Cover

 

The newest issue of Time came out.  

I sat for three minutes looking at it.  It's not a flattering 'painting' of President Biden and the 'fog' at the top of the cover is meant to convey something.

The people disheartened by this?  Probably the folks who work in the inner-circle or within the cabinet functions.  They have to know the crap thats going on, and probably have some stamina to handle x-amount of the situation....then announce they are leaving.

My 5 Things I'd Do If I Were President Biden

 Not that I'm offering advice, but after viewing last night.....this is list of things:

1.  Lay off Pete Buttigieg....find some retired Army logistics general and bring him in to fix the port issues.  Tell the California state government that it has no authority over the port, or the movement of goods out of the port.  

2.  Whoever is giving foreign affairs advice within the inner circle....terminate them.  Crappy advice is getting you nowhere.

3.  Just tell VP Harris to take up golf, and not attend any further meetings unless I call you.  She's a lousy VP, but you can't fire her.....so just make her as invisible as possible.

4.  Quit going to Delaware every single weekend.  

5.  Start preparing for a spring 2023 impeachment....by hiring up some decent 4-star lawyers.

CNN in the News

 CNN says it's going full-speed ahead to create a 'team' to cover misinformation.

I sat and read the piece completely....to make sure it wasn't a mistake.

A big team?  No....three folks.  Who will the three be?  Unknown.  And I seriously doubt that they will be seasoned journalists.  

How long will the misinformation team exist for CNN?  If I were a betting man, I'd say no longer than 12 months.  Their demise will be tied to the idea that eventually....the path will lead back to CNN itself, and the reporters will report how CNN creates misinformation....which will frustrated the heck out of the 'boss'.

After The Smoke Has Cleared With The Texas Synagogue Episode

 A number of analysts have looked at the final weeks of life for this British Muslim terrorist guy, and come to the conclusion....complete mental breakdown.  This was even before he stepped onto US soil.

Paranoid Schizophrenia?  The one thing that isn't discussed openly....how this guy's life went the final six months.  Was he hooked-up on drugs?  Was he seeing a mental health clinic?  Was he fired from his job?  

Observations Over President Biden's Press Conference

 I'll limit it to six comments:

1.  Compared to some past moments of 2021....he seemed reasonably sharp.

2.  On the Russia comment, he's already accepted the idea that an invasion will occur....some piece of the Ukraine will be carved off, and there's not much the US will do other than sanctions.  

3.  'I don't believe the polls' comment.  Bill Clinton lived and breathed by the polls....every ounce of success in the Clinton era....came from analyzing the polls and changing course when necessary.  So whatever you saw for 2021.....is still the course for Joe Biden and team in 2022.

4.  Some people (after the press conference) used the term 'foggy' to discuss how Joe Biden saw things.  I would suggest that he reminded me of a old guy who was simply out of his league and doing the best he could.  From all the Senate years....the chief talent that he showed....was embellishment of his record.  I simply saw the same talent at work. 

5.  He did say that for the 2024 campaign (he intends to run)....that VP Harris will be his choice for VP.  I think she was standing there in a state of shock.  

6.  It was not a bad press conference, but if you were a Democrat and looking for some great moment of inspiration.....sorry, you just didn't get that.  I personally doubt that you will get another press conference for at least six months.  

Voting Rights to the Common Man

 If you sat down with ten regular working-class people and said there needs to be a written 'word' on voting rights.....after eight hours of talks....the entire end-result would be around forty lines of text.

You'd have a piece written to say 'one-man, one-vote'.

You'd have some text to say you register ahead of time in your home state.

You'd write a piece to say multiple voting gets you actual jail time or a fine.

To suggest that you'd write some text that only the federal government can control this.....would be laughed upon by the people in this group.

For Biden and team to suggest that 500-odd pages of text is required?  That would be laughed upon as well.

So I don't see this federalization of elections to be going anywhere.  In fact, if you gauged people....on the top 100 problems in the nation....this federal voting situation doesn't fall into that position.  The fact that President Biden doesn't grasp this?  

NPR and Diets

 In the past week, I listened to a NPR podcast.  To be honest, maybe around the 1990 to 2000 era....I caught three hours of NPR a week, and lately....in an average year...it's about two hours (for the whole year).  

So this podcast was an odd piece.  This was a diet-authority person.....being interviewed, and basically telling people to take a stand....refuse to be weighed at the doctor's office....refuse to give them your weight....and refuse to confirm or deny your current nutrition situation.

It was a rather shocking 'stand' to take, with NPR more or less validating the idea.

Far left agenda?  Well....back in the 1990 to 2000 era....that was the weekly problem I had with their news program.  

This anti-diet agenda?  Well....I could sign up for something like this, and be a full-fledged member.  The odds that this was a one-time mistake and some intern with the NPR-club screwed up?  Well.....yeah, that's probably a 80-percent chance.

An indicator that NPR is changing into something else?  Maybe.  

Just Something To Think About

 I noticed this fact the other day and it's been on my mind.

As of October 2020.....5.1-million Americans (over the age of 18) had a felony in their background.  It comes out to near one person out of every forty-four.

I sat there pondering over this.

Over my entire Air Force career and the twenty years since then....I've known around eight individuals who were brought up on charges and convicted of a felony situation.  In each single case....the guy made one stupid decision and couldn't alter his path from that moment on.

Are the 5.1-million mostly guys?  No one breaks the numbers down, and I would make a humble guess that of this group....probably 98-percent are men.  Women are more unlikely to commit a felony situation. 

How you should view this?  Once you leave the house in the morning....the odds are from that moment at 7 AM, until 7 PM when you likely return....you've come across at least one or two people who have felony convictions in their past.  

Just something to think about.  

What VP Kamala Harris Reminds Me Of?

 Throughout high school, and even college....I'd come across these people who did next to nothing on study/projects....marginally got a 'C' (you'd always ask how they deserved that), and would score just enough to pass onto the next level.  

By age 25, you could measure their intelligence level, and they were remarkably at the age 13 level of knowledge and capability.  

I knew people in the Air Force....who bluffed their way through basic and some tech school, and five years later....were near 'zero' on knowledge about their field of expertise.  Some would go on and wrap up a twenty-year career....lacking any real intelligence or capability.  

VP Harris reminds me of those people.  Because she was a female, and black.....she got a four-star bluff card, and was never challenged to prove her value.  Now?  Well....she's screwed because she'd have to study, and she simply doesn't have that capability.

The new folks hired to be on her staff?  Most, I think....will be gone by December....realizing that she's not capable of putting in effort to improve.  

Any lessons learned?  I doubt it.  

And I will suggest this....she's not the only one in Biden's group who has a problem like this.  

What's Generally In This Biden Voting Rights Bill?

 After a fair amount of chatter, I went and reviewed basic structure:

1.  Prohibit states from requiring an excuse to vote absentee. 

Absentee was originally developed for military/state department folks who were out-of-country.  At some point (probably 1980s), it came into play within senior citizen retirement homes, and hospital-bound people.  My general problem with this federal idea is that you'd end up with people who vote in two or three states, and no real apparatus to prevent multiple voting. 

2.  Require states to mail absentee-ballot applications to all voters. 

The truth is.....they already do this....in all fifty states.  I'm not sure why they need to even bring this up....other than to suggest that some don't mail them out.  

3.  Require states to let voters to apply for an absentee ballot online. 

The truth is....states generally already do this.  Again, it's odd to suggest you need to federally mandate states on this.  

4.  Prohibit states from requiring absentee ballots to be notarized or have witness signatures. 

States generally use one or the other in terms of making them valid.  

5.  Ensure states count all absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days. 

On this, I can remember throughout the 1980s....applying for an absentee ballot three months before a primary/election, and only getting it five days before the election itself.  You can blame the mail system on this (particularly if assigned overseas).  My general problem here....if 75-percent of a state population voted absentee....you couldn't wrap up the election for a minimum of ten days.  The potential for fraud?  It's significant. 

6.  Mandate states to offer 15 consecutive days of early voting. 

Some states offer a week....some go up to 15 days.  The budget/man-power required to run something like this?  Most states would probably say three days are enough if given any choice over the matter.

7.  Mandate “to the greatest extent practicable” that polling places to keep waiting time to under 30 minutes. 

I just started laughing.  At Arlington, my wait on the 2012 election was almost three hours.  In one particular year in Alabama....it was about 90 seconds.  I don't know how federal 'fixing' could resolve this.

8.  Mandate states that require voter IDs to also accept sworn statements signed by the voter. 

Sounds fine....shouldn't this same rule work for buying booze, picking up drugs at the pharmacy, conducting car registrations, or buying smokes?  I should just be able to write on a scrap of paper.....I'm Joe X and am 21....right?

We should just all carry around sworn statements in our pocket....3x5 inch index cards to say who are, if this makes any sense.

9.  Mandate states let to allow people to register to vote on Election Day. 

Wondering why it takes 3 to 5 hours at the polling station already now....with people showing up and trying to already register on election day? 

The minute you move into a town....you ought to be mandated to show up at the driver's license office and note your change of address....with that also going to the voting folks.

10.  Mandate states to let folks to register to vote online. 

How would you present that ID?  Or would you have one of the World-of-Warcraft IDs that you bought with the digital sword/shield?  

11.  Mandate states to offer automatic voter registration at the department of motor vehicles and other government agencies. 

First, what do they mean by 'other' government agencies?  Fishing and hunting license shops?

Onto the current situation....most states already offer automatic voter registration like they discuss.  Some have a voting desk right next to the driver's license shop.  Why mandate something when almost all of them already do it?

12.  Tightly restrict states’ ability to purge voters from the rolls. 

Are we talking about dead-voters?

What do we mean by 'tightly'?  

Most states have a law to mandate purge schedules....particularly on dead voters.  The county clerk gathers up the official records, with the county judge overseeing the listing, and the elimination occurs.  Why would you involve the federal government in this process?

13.  Make Election Day a national holiday. 

This sounds like a good idea, then you ask questions.  Throughout most communities....even on a national holiday....various stores/restaurants are open.  I would make a humble guess that 20-percent of the nation still works on national holidays.  

Most European countries mandate voting to occur on Sundays.  Why not mandate that action in the US?

Also, how would you handle primaries?  Make those national holidays as well?

14.  Somehow, make it illegal to deceive voters (in an intentional way) to NOT vote.

Basically, you'd be admitting that fifty percent of the nation is stupid enough to believe some propaganda that you shouldn't vote.  

15.   Give the right to vote back to people convicted of a felony but out of prison.

Various states have done this....others are discussing it.  It's just not a federal matter.  It's pretty easy to avoid felony crimes....about 99-percent of all people I've known in life....did so with ease.  

16.  Implement public funding for congressional campaigns by matching every dollar a candidate raises from small donors with $6 from the government.

Why make this a federal matter, and use federal tax revenue?   Why $6?  Why not $12? Who is a small donor....the guy giving $25 or the guy giving $250, or the guy giving $2,500?  

You might as well give public funding to every family making $25k or less a year.....a $1,000 grocery gift card to Piggly Wiggly.  

17.  Mandate “dark money” groups to disclose their donors. 

Why?  People would just invent 'transparent-but-dark-money' next.  

18.  Manufacture some type of disclosure requirements for political ads on Facebook and Twitter.

Who would be in charge of this?  Former Twitter/Facebook employees?  

19.  Provide funding for states to upgrade their election infrastructure. 

What do they mean by infrastructure?  Computerized but crappy system enhancements?  Who will be in charge of this, and how connected are they to some lobby group?

20.  Establish federal standards for election equipment. 

This begs all kinds of questions.  If the standard is crap....how can the people trust in the system to function?

21. Mandate the use of paper ballots. 

Most all states do this already.  Why federalize the idea?

22.  Establish specific redistricting criteria for fair maps and require nonpartisan redistricting commissions in every state. 

Who is in charge?  This begs all kinds of questions.  Nonpartisan redistricting commissions would become a joke. 

23.  Count prisoners at their last address, instead of where they’re incarcerated, for redistricting. 

What if the guy never registered to vote in Texas, for that six-year period of crime he succeeded in?  What if the guy has never registered a single time in forty years of crime....to vote?  What if homeless folks were put into this category, but never registered a single time in California for the past four elections?  

24.  Mandate tax returns of Presidential candidates be made public.

Why?  How about Governor, Senator and House members as well?  What if the guy made $22-million last year....gave you his return, and it says he paid $99 for federal taxes?  Does a tax return establish a guy's character or lack of character?

25.  Bar members of Congress from sitting on corporate boards. 

Around 15 House members currently sit on 'boards'.  It would be curious to have them stand and explain how they have a full-time job presently, and also carry on with a board job.  

But if you are serious about this....shouldn't this be 'any other' job....not just corporate boards?  What if some Senator wanted to operate a gas station while serving?  What if a House member wanted to sell wood paneling on the side?  

26.  Bar members of Congress from using public money to settle sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits. 

Just make a stupid two-line law that says the most public money you can use for government lawsuits is $99.  You don't need federal gimmicks to resolve this.

27.  Establish a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices. 

Well...how about a ethics code for House/Senate members too?  

28.  Finally, shrink the Federal Election Commission from six members to five in order to avoid tie votes.  

How about three members?  

The problem with this whole bill....maybe it started with good intentions, but at 791 pages....it's complicated and just makes a bigger mess.  You really don't want the federal government coming in to fix things.  

Watched Marvel's Eternals Yesterday

 It came up on Disney-Plus and I watched it.  Five observations:

1.  At roughly 2.5 hours.....it was simply not packaged into an understandable story.  I would argue that they probably needed another sixty minutes to lay out 'the rest of the story'.

2.  Angelina Jolie was totally wasted.  For the limited amount of time on the screen....she had few lines and I question why to bring her onto the movie.

3.  The Ikaris character is the key figure of the movie and I probably would have preferred to see more of him....but in the final minutes of the movie....they killed that guy off.

4.  If you were wanting true bad-guy moments....it was lacking from the typical Marvel bad-guy sagas.  

5.  I still recommend it, but it's a fairly deep storyline and you just stand there at the final 30 minutes....shocked at the development of things.  It is a fairly 'black' theme by the end.  

'Brink of Danger' Essay

 I noticed last night a new poll.  It said that ONLY 33-percent of Americans approve of President Biden's job performance.  The fact that it's barely 365 days into the period?  Well....that would something discuss.

But here's the odd....a majority of Americans NOW believe that the nation's democracy is on the 'brink of danger'.

I sat for a while looking at the word....'brink' and 'danger'.

You could gather up a hundred friends and neighbors....asking them to define both words, and you'd get a hundred variations.

Around older military guys.....'brink of danger' is the most screwed scenario possible where nuke warfare occurs, and it just never happens.

If you asked some college kid....he'd say 'brink of danger' is where the Dodgers on a fantastic roll in early August....suddenly to have four pitchers caught in a transsexual five some in a hotel room.

If you asked some farmer....he'd say 'brink of danger' is where lightning has stuck a tree where a dozen cows are huddled around the tree while the storm rages.

So it's hard to say what the crowd meant by brink of danger.

Can Biden do anything much?  No.  Other than resigning and I doubt he has the capability to do that, and it'd just give you Harris as the replacement anyway.

CNN in this whole landscape?  They've pretty much watched the ship sink and have gathered around around in life jackets and a rubber boat.....to discuss the old days (back around 2000).  

Even bringing in Doctor Doom himself to scare up some new fresh people....just won't do much for the gut-feeling.  

The odds of the job performance getting down below 20-percent by 1 January 2023?  I'd now give it better than 50-percent chance.  

Ten Strategies You Ought To Carry Around In Your Life

 1.  If something isn't 'broke'....don't waste time thinking it is broke and needing a fix.  Don't let others convince you of a fake 'broke-status'.  Either it's broke, or it's not.

2.  Don't make decisions when you are mad or angry.  Go reflect for several hours (maybe even days),  and then make some wise thoughts come together.

3.  Productive office meetings rarely produce positive results if they last over thirty minutes.  On hour-plus meetings....it's guaranteed to be zero gain.  

4.  Once you start burning bridges.....your options start to decrease on future solutions.  If a bridge deserves to be burnt....do it in a low-key way and know the damage extent ahead of time.

5.  If you've reached the point where motivation in your job or passion is zero....it's probably time to reassess where you are, and find a new path, new job, or new passion.

6.  Appreciate what you have today (relationships, health, a good job, a great vacation, etc).

7.  Accept change.  

8.  Every second, every minute, every day, every week.....has a value attached.  Don't waste five hours doing a project that has zero pay-back.  There ought to be a calendar at the office and in the house....each reflecting projects and plan 'B' situations. 

9.  Keep it simple.  Don't turn a minor situation into a Einstein-moment or something requiring rocket science.

10.  The least appreciated talent in life is humor.  It gets you through rough spots, downward economic periods, and bad relationships.  Learn to reflect upon hardships with an ounce or two of humor.  

How Many Democratic Senate Seats Will Flip?

 Six months ago....I would have said almost zero.  Today?  I'd put the number of Democratic-controlled seats to flip at four: Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and New Hampshire.  

Republican seats to flip?  I'd put Wisconsin at a better than 50-percent chance to flip.

President Biden able to halt/prevent the four losses?  Well....no.  There's just not any 4-star accomplishments about to occur in 2022, which would translate to positive numbers. 

The more interesting race to watch?  Right now....Georgia, with former football great Herschel Walker running as a Republican.  Polling (as of early December 2021)....Warnock versus Walker?  Walker is currently ahead by one point in the polls. 

Five Things On My Mind

 1.  How many FBI informants were in DC on the 6th of January 2021?  

The more you think about this....the more humorous the topic becomes.  Personally, it wouldn't shock me if the FBI had a minimum of fifty informants within the various militia groups that gathered up, and half of them were reporting on the other half. 

2.  Are there 50-million Covid test kits sitting in a government warehouse?

Well...probably so (the news people hint this).  So I ponder upon this and will simply note....each box has a expiration date from production (typically 12 months from that day).  So unless you had a really smart guy managing the warehouse....the odds are that the kits are reaching an expiration day in the next month or two.  It's a waste of time and effort for the government to get into this type of purchasing plan.

3.  Did a 'hot' mic catch Doctor Fauci uttering 'moron' at a Republican Senator?

Yes.  And if this were the 1970s/1980s....there would have been a budget cut forced upon Fauci's agency to pay him for his insult.  

4.  The US Army holding an exercise in a rural area of North Carolina that injects a guerilla war scenario?

Rather than hold this on a normal Army post (dozens of training areas throughout the US).....this is done in the open....in a normal town environment of North Carolina.  There are potentially a thousand things that can go wrong, and I can't imagine a senior Army officer signing off on this idea.  

5.  China engaging in changing Cuba?

First, I think if you took a thousand Chinese folks and dumped them into Cuba for a year....99-percent would be permanently changed and would probably unable to revert back to their old traditions in China.  Maybe the political leadership in China thinks they can accomplish something, but I seriously doubt it.  

Joe, Kam and This Atlanta Speech

 I sat and watched the 35-odd minute speech by President Biden and VP Harris....to press on with the Voting Rights Bill.

So five observations:

1.  Did Joe Biden really say 'President Harris'?  Yeah.

2.  I think the speech might have made sense in 1968.....but here in 2022....it just doesn't make a lot of sense.

3.  This hype for a act for that doesn't to be in the top ten priorities of Democrats?  This is the odd part of the story.  This is like the federal government riding in on 'white horses' to save the poor rancher woman.....who left 25 years ago for better surroundings.  

4.  The fact that Stacey Abrams wasn't there?  Either she's toxic to Joe's program, or Joe is toxic to Abram's program.  

5.  Any well known black Georgia civil rights people in attendance?  Well....you didn't see a one.  That begs questions. 

Xanax Politics

 In the real world....there is this drug called Xanax (Alprazolam), which is usually given out as a prescription to help treat anxiety and panic disorder.

 It belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines which act on the brain and nerves to give you a seemingly effective calm feeling.

In general, as long as you don't consume alcohol, mix other drugs with it, or get into massive chaos to double up your stress....it works.

The fact that it only works six to ten hours?  Well....you kinda time your dose....to get maximum effect.

If you decide it's crappy....well....you gotta talk to the doctor because getting 'off' Xanax is pretty screwed-up and has potential problems.  Some people will tell you....from the day they said 'enough'....it took a minimum of six months to feel safe.

Potential side-effects?  

You might feel light-headed (dizzy)....like the night when you discovered Hillary Clinton lost the election.  

Your risk-taking views on life might increase, where you actually sit and talk to conservatives and they seem to make sense all of a sudden.  

You might hallucinate to some degree (thinking you were in Malibu with a Baywatch-Democratic mayor on your arm, then it dissolves into a new hallucination where it's really a transgender politician who seems to talk like that Senator Cruz guy).  

You might feel sudden rushes of energy....like you think you can fix every pothole in your town, or cure America of Covid by thrusting masks at people.  

You might have these thoughts of agitation occur where the slightest comment by a conservative guy sets you off and makes you identify him as 'orange-man'.  

You might seem confused......like why did Doctor Fucci seem to make sense last month,  and today seems like a 4th grade kid?  

The question is....are we consuming imaginary Xanax enough....that it screws up our reality?  

Fact: Just for the record, if you were thinking about that Parkland School Shooting of 2018, with that Cruz kid....wondering if he did Xanax?  Well....he didn't have any problem admitting he used it.  

$548-Million

 The US government pays out around $548-million now (yearly) to informants.  I sat and looked at the amount....pretty hefty amount.

This includes all of the various agencies.  

Are there people pulling in $100k a year?  Well....no one really suggests that.  There's just this funnel and if you provide information to some agency....you might be getting a regular check of some amount.  

Could you get check #1 from the FBI, and check #2 from the DEA?  Well....no one really says it's impossible.  

Things That Typically Last Longer Than The 6th of January 2021 Insurrection

 1.  Soccer game with double-overtime play.

2. Reading the Sense of an Ending (160 pages).

3.  Cleaning and reorganizing your fridge/freezer unit.

4.  Watching all the episodes of the BBC's Fawlty Towers.

5.  Playing a game of risk between four energetic college kids. 

6.  Watching Zack Snyder's Justice League (the re-edited version).

7.  Watching the full edition of The Return of the King (Lord of the Rings).

8.  Walking from the Little Red Lighthouse to the Battery (far south point) of NY City, with a 30-minute ice cream break in the middle.

9.  Listening to one of President Biden' reminiscing stories of how he pitched for the Red Sox in 1963, and drilled for Alaskan crude oil in 1966.

10.  Restoring a 30-year old bike from top to bottom.

11.  Eating a seven-course meal in France, with five chatty people who tamed wild beasts in Africa, discovered pirates gold, and personally knew Mitterand.

12.  Butcher a hog (top to bottom) with a marginal hog expert.

13.  Fully expel demons out of a possessed lady with a Catholic exorcist.  

14.  Enter and view a Daytona 500 race, with a 30 minute beer-call as the race concludes.

15.  Smoke heroin, with the high effect lasting typically 5 hours.

16.  Attend a 2,000 participant Baptist Revival meeting.

17.  Ask a German to describe the utter failures of America, with three bottles of Jack Daniels to accompany the 4-hour chatter.

18.  Drink four 'bottles' of 'Five-Hour Energy', and settle back for an afternoon of extreme anxiety, nausea, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, and high blood pressure.

19.  Run a garage sale out of your home.

20.  Take down the wallpaper of living room, sip a bottle of wine, and then re-wallpaper the room.  

21.  Allow your 8th grade math teacher to spend five hours to teach a 16-minute moment on fractions.  

22.  Sit through a 4.5 hour talk by your cousin to explain the 'Lost' TV series from beginning to end.  

23.  Get lost in Barcelona, discovering no one much speaks English, and this was the one time that you didn't bring a map along for the journey.

24.  Allowing your uncle to explain his route from Tallahassee to Little Rock, and how he avoided using the interstate system.

25.  Spending the afternoon at a yoga class with several middle-aged single women who seemed thrilled that you are single, a male, and apparently fake-interested in yoga.

26. Take the train from Zermatt to St Moritz (on a sunny July day).

27.  Throw back three 'steins' of 1-liter beer at the Oktoberfest and then recover at the 'hill'....not remembering much of anything that occurred.  

28.  Walk the entire 'tour' from Arlington Cemetery.

Just Things I Noticed Today

 1.  Biden, 28-percent.  I noticed that 28-percent of folks think that Joe Biden will 'win' in 2024 (out of a group who thinks he'll run).  Pretty crappy numbers.

Doomed at the edge of 365 days?  Well....that's the jest of it.  I can't think of a Presidency this deep into trouble.  

2.  It's just odd....the past six months....you get some dose almost weekly now of a civil war erupting in the US....mostly by leftwing journalists.

3.  California is openly discussing doubling the income tax rate.  If they did this?  Probably would help another quarter-million employed residents to make the move out of the state in 2022.  

Decline

 Just over three-quarters of U.S. voters now believe their society is in some type of decline (poll by the Trafalgar Group).

Viewing the landscape.....I would have made this statement myself around the 2000 to 2010 era.....there were various bits of evidence to suggest that....depending on where you lived....things were getting tougher or more prevalent to crime/drugs.

If you divided this among high urban areas, and rural areas.....it'd be a significant difference.  If you resided in the heart of Memphis or New Orleans....probably 90-percent of people would say decline is going on.  If you lived in rural Tennessee or rural South Carolina....probably one-third of folks would suggest the decline situation.

What brought it on?  It's a combination of twenty-odd things.  Drugs played a part....fake politics played a role....corruption at the local, state and federal level played into this....lack of respect within schools....poorly educated people left to French Fry handlers....social media fell into the pit....etc.

I would even argue that we've come to the point that Presidents are considered 'Satan' or 'Jesus', when they are marginally getting anything done.

Improving?  How? 

Inslee on Lying

 I picked up this story about six hours ago.

Washington state Democratic Governor Jay Inslee has now said that he'd like to make a new law for the state.....that it would turn into a crime if any elected official/candidate lies on election results.

After a fair amount of thinking.....I actually think it's a great idea, but I'd suggest it only goes 1-percent of the way.  

I think for any lie....for any purpose....ought to invoke this lie crime situation, and either get you jail-time or some hefty fine.

We'd have a full-time truth commission, where forty-odd people are sworn to some level of truth, and will guard the public from lies.  Upon having a mayor, or commissioner, or policeman caught in a lie.....they'd just fill out the charges and send the guy to court.  

Odds that 1,500 state folks would be sent off to jail or terminated from employment?  Well....yeah, that probably would occur.  

How Easy Is It To Fall For a Agent Provocateur?

 This is a true story.

I lived in the Arlington area for 3.5 years (2010 to 2013).....in a apartment complex.  Across the street from my place were three additional apartment buildings. 

One day.....all hell broke loose, but lets re-arrange this story at the very beginning. 

In one of these apartment buildings....about six months prior....some new gal moved in.  Mid-20s.....attractive....and very chatty.  She was always wanting to start up a conversation with just about anyone at the entry of the building.  

Folks might argue, but probably a quarter of all the residents knew this gal within six weeks of arrival.

She claimed....proudly....as to working for the CIA.

Most people, who do work for the CIA....rarely bring this up, and it's mostly with friends only.

At some point, she had a young guy (early 20s) hooked up with her.  It's safe to say that 'relations' were happening.

Then, she let the young guy know that she was shipping off to the Middle East for a sensitive mission, and that she could hire an assistant.  To make all this possible, she needed some of his private information for the HR paperwork.

This guy totally believed her chatter.

He would give notice at his regular government job, and packed up for a trip with her.  They would fly into his parent's location as they left, and....well....Mom and Dad didn't buy any of her story, the CIA stuff, or the potential job.

They made a call or two (Mom and Dad), and the story fell apart.  There was no secret agent job.....no assignment in the Middle East, and this dimwit was not connected to the CIA.

The authorities back in Virginia did some investigation but there's no clear law broken.  

The guy wanting to believe the fake CIA gal?  I always thought....after hearing the various stories, that everyone at the apartment complex wanted to  believe her story. 

This is basically how a agent provocateur operates.....they have a decent story, and work at various ways to convince you of the story.  The more simple the story....the easier the 'sell' becomes.  

How this girl ever rented the apartment?  I was told that her parents gave her a monthly check and she was just out living on her own.  What happened after this?  Unknown.  My humble guess is that she's in some other American town.....telling people of her CIA missions, and working to convince new people of secret assignments coming up shortly.  

The 5th of January 2021 Pipebomber

 It's just an odd thing.

Around 7:40 PM that evening (5 Jan 2021)....a guy wearing a gray hoodie sweatshirt and a mask....was seen via video....carrying a bag along South Capitol Street in DC.  It's a north-south street which leads out of the Anacostia area of DC....going north.

About 12 minutes later....the guy is recorded....sitting on a bench at the Democratic National Committee building in DC.....leaving a bag (pipebomb #1).

Around 15 minutes later....he's seen via another camera....by the Republican National Committee building, placing another pipebomb (#2).

Both were found and disabled before they blew.  

So....to this date (a year later) nothing is known on the guy.  Yes, there is a $50k reward on information....if you were curious about it.

I sat and reviewed the information.

Around DC, I would estimate a minimum 3,000 security cameras.  Some focus on streets....some on buildings, but it's almost impossible to venture around the city without the cameras seeing you.  

Quality of the video of this guy?  In some cases....excellent.

Did he arrive by bus/subway?  No.  Based on the 'entry' and 'exit'.....there's no video of him going to some bus or entering/exiting the subway system.

Did he just walk into DC?  Well....there would have been additional video to show him doing so.

Did he drive into DC....park in some random parking lot, and walk 30 to 60 minutes to reach the 7:40 PM point?  You would assume that they looked at parking garage video and found no one in that attire around that time.

Parked out on the street?  Probably.

The fact that he laid a pipebomb at both the RNC and DNC?  He wanted both to noticed?  Probably.

Did the FBI do a lot of research over video?  Well...I'm not convinced of this.  Someone does appear out of thin air at 7:40 PM and disappear entirely at 8:14 PM.  I've spent hours walking around DC (2010 to 2013) and noted various cameras.  This guy had to know of some corner where there are no cameras, and had some associate drop him off.....then pick him up.  

Of all the things from the 6th of January episode....this is the weirdest one....without any real effort by the FBI.  

Homelessness 'Path'

 It's not rocket science, but it's hard for the average American to understand what happened on the west coast to advance homelessness.  So I'll tell this shorten version of the 'saga'.

Somewhere along the 1970s/1980s....suburbs reached a point where they felt enough construction had been done, and put political pressure on various city councils....to lessen construction.  In effect, the 'boom' came to a much lesser state of being at that point around places like LA, SF, and Seattle.

Even if you were a property speculator.....you found that deals were now much less in terms of size and development.  Apartments for lower income folks?  That really started to cease.

Rents then started to escalate, and the average waitress or short-order cook....was pushed to the limits.  

In this same era....housing or forced hospitalization of paranoid schizophrenia folks ran into issues.  

Also in the same era....came drug usage.  

These three took a non-existent problem and made it into a rocket-science situation. 

The final problem was that people felt the west coast had opportunity....so if you were a loser in Chicago, Dayton, or Tulsa.....you might get this crazy idea to haul your stuff out to the west coast, and hook onto some success there.  Over the past twenty years....this giant magnet existed and just complicated the overall problem even more.

So there is a new agenda of problem approaching.  Various 'help-groups' want to come in and fix all of this?  Their stumbling block?  Well....they want to force cheap housing to be built.  Added to this....the jobs just aren't there.  And finally.....with various rehab efforts underway, if you deliver the cleaned-up guy to a zero-job situation....then he falls back into the pit.  

There's tons of money to be wasted, and no one really understands this angle of the whole deal.  

Viewing the 6th of January a Year Later

 There are three issues that I see:

1.  The person responsible for security in the capital building....is Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  On carrying out her function....it's a zero.  I don't think she even grasped that she's the person accountable for the make-up of the security for the building.  

I generally believe the time has come to make the Speaker position into a full-time non-voted individual, and hold them accountable for the functionality of the capital building.

2.  It's just odd....out of three-hundred-odd people who stormed the building....there's just one single person who seems dead because of actions on that day, and it's a Air Force vet gal.  That's it.  The one cop who died?  That's hours later, via a heart attack.

3.  Finally, from the three-hundred characters that the FBI put on wanted posters....three individuals who were leaders of this posse-group or Oath-Keeper crowd....who churned up the crowd to enter.....aren't arrested or charged-up.  The appearance that they might be agent-provocateurs?  Well....the longer this goes on and the fed prosecutors refuse to charge them....it just looks like a made-up operation to get folks hyped up....to commit a crime.  

How things will end?  In spring of 2023, I expect some House committee (Republican led) to go and investigate the whole thing, and bring the three 'leaders' in for questions.  Connections back to the FBI?  Probably, and at that point....all of the charged-up folks will be given some type of release, and civil suits will follow.  It wouldn't even shock me if the FBI ends being disbanded to some degree because of the lack of trust going on.  At that point....'agent-provocateurs' will be on our mind a good bit.  

Observations

 1.  This I-95 'stranded business' in Virginia.  If you went and reviewed regional weather forecasts....around six hours prior to the 'delivery' of the snow business to I-95....the weather guys were already chatting over the extent of the problem.  Responsible people (including truckers) should have taken the warning, and simply picked a quiet safe spot to hunker down for 36 hours and then proceed on.  That didn't happen.  

Around 25 years ago, I was on a base where they made a ice-call at 11 AM....saying everyone that lived more than 30 minutes away from base needed to leave by 1:30 PM.  I had a project and didn't leave until 2:30 PM.....clearly running into the mess as they had predicted.  I didn't get home until 7:00 PM that evening.  So my advice....listen to the weather guys and act accordingly.

2.  The odds of Ghislaine Maxwell's case now being dumped?  Since two jurors stood up in the talk-phase and mentioned their situation with abuse in their life....I'd give Maxwell a 90-percent chance now of having the case thrown out.  The prosecution folks?  They have to be furious about what happened and the idea of a whole repeat.  

3. 'Don't get tested'.  The Florida surgeon general had to go out and urge people.....if you don't have Covid symptoms....don't go and get line to be tested for Covid.  

No one says the numbers but I remember the initial period in 2020 in Germany where doctors absolutely refused to administer the test unless you confessed to one of four key symptoms.  They kept that stance up for at least three months.  People are just inclined to think they have something....when they don't have anything.

4.  NY Times and Omicron.  Well....in simple terms, they more or less compare it to regular flu.  I never thought this day would come.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  

Yeah, He Said That

 "Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. It's exploitation."

-- Joe Biden

Couple of days ago, President Biden got into some discussion over meat prices, and eventually uttered this quote....that competition is evil and exploits people.  

The problem here...there is no capitalism to exist without competition.  

It's hard to say if Joe is aware or this, or just saying anything that comes into his head at this point.

Four Things That Joe Biden Ought To Do

 1.  For all of 2022, he should avoid phone-call chats with regular Americans, period.  

2.  It would be helpful if President Biden only made one single appearance per week.

3.  He ought to convince the Democrats to release Pelosi as Speaker of the House and install VP Harris as the new House Speaker (House rules allow for the Speaker to be a non-member).  This way....he could pave the way for Harris to be 'gone' and get a new VP.

4.  Finally, Biden ought to refuse all live interviews.

Geographically Controlled?

 It's an interesting story.

Back in September, the Biden administration decided that the federal government needed to 'control' the market of monoclonal antibody treatments....using the Department of Health and Human Services to "help maintain equitable distribution, both geographically and temporally, across the country."

This has drawn a fair amount of attention. 

Is there an unlimited amount of the monoclonal antibody 'material'?  No.  And I should add....it's not cheap.  But it's a product that was already 'controlled' (before this DHHS order came along), and you can only get it via a prescription from your doctor.

The thing is....they wrote this odd order about 'geographically-controlling' things. This means if you have x-amount of monoclonal antibody treatments....you have to divide in some way along 50 lines.  So if you have ten states with intense high numbers and ten states with almost no serious bouts of Covid....the ten states with the marginal Covid will still have their supply of monoclonal antibody sitting there in some government warehouse.  The ten states with intense issues.....will be facing a shortage.

Begging for a court battle?  More or less.  But if you had some relative in an intense state who gets Covid, and dies because of a lack of monoclonal antibody....it's possible you might get mad enough to hire lawyers and start suing DHHS health folks....in a personal way. 

So this brings me to this odd point....where exactly do you want the government to be in the middle of some funnel, and controlling things?

Some examples:

If we have x-amount of Mountain Dew, do we want President Biden to issue the order to geographically control Dew through the 50 states....even though folks in Montana, Idaho and Maine rarely drink it?

If we had x-amount of Viagra, do we want President Biden to issue the order to geographically control Viagra through the 50 states....even if folks in Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island rarely use it?

If we had x-amount of peanut butter, do we want the President to issue the order to geographically control it through the 50 states? 

Does President Biden even grasp the order given?  It might be interesting to ask that question.  I'm just waiting for an added part to this discussion....where the antibody is only issue/prescribed.....to vaxed-up people. 

Urbanization

 From Townhall.com, I noticed a piece written by Jeff Crouere, entitled 'A Year of Living Dangerously in American Cities'.

More or less....he makes the case that major cities have become 'little-war-zones' and maybe the draw of living in a highly urbanized city is evaporating now.

From the five major cities on the west coast....I'd generally regard the living standards and safety elements to be mostly marginalized now.  Looking around the NE of the US (particularly NY City)....I can say the same.  

There might be some features in Tennessee, Florida and Texas going on....where the urbanization is acceptable.  

The bothersome part of this....if you lived there in the 'war-zone' for your entire life, and now reaching 60....what exists for a reason to stay there in retirement?  I can't think of a single reason that I'd stay in Portland or Seattle.

I remember talking to some Air Force guy around 2003 who'd returned from duty in the 'Green Zone' of Iraq.   I asked him to describe the 'zone' and he spent around thirty minutes going in significant detail about security, the threats, and how you valued each day that nothing much happened.  

I see this 'Green Zone' mentality existing today.....going into major US cities, and continually thinking about where you are, the threats, and not willing to venture into normal places anymore.  

Getting resolved?  How?  

Me and Airline Travel

 Around age 18.....the summer of 1977, I took my first flight (to basic training in San Antonio, Texas).  Everything on this flight worked perfect.  

Over the next twenty-odd years, with two slight exceptions (a cancelled flight in Dallas, and a five-hour delay in Dallas)....things ran fine.  

Around 2000, I began to notice a problem here and there....the cancellations increased....the delays increased....the tarmac delays went up (I sat at a Tampa tarmac for almost an hour once....in the plane.....while some storm passed over).  

For a lot of older people, we remember how it was before 2000, and the reliability of a 'ticket'.

Traveling today?  I sit down and form a plan 'A'.  Then I go and research the airports I might be going through, forming a plan 'B' (listing five hotels in the local area), and then getting to a plan 'C' which is the final destination where I might be extremely late getting there (thus planning an overnight there just in case).

I just plain accept the fact.....the odds of this being a successful flight is marginally at 70-percent.   

All of this leads me to question how things will be in fifteen years, and if the chaos multiples or simply doubles in nature.  

Maybe It Can Be Questioned

 "If science can't be questioned, it's not science."

-- Aaron Rogers (Quarterback)

I paused over the quote that he made in the last day or two.  He made the statement in relation to Covid and the vaccination business.

When you go back to Roger Bacon, de Vinci, Gesner, Galileo, Isaac Newton, James Hutton, Alexander von Humboldt, Richard Owen, Pasteur, Huxley, and Einstein.....they were all questioned extensively and often ridiculed. 

In their minds....science was never truly 'finished'.  Discoveries simply led onto more questions, and acceptance was hard to imagine.  

We live in an odd time where 'science is settled', and the deeper into this process we venture.....the reality is that we don't need anymore scientists....if things are settled.  We might as well block off the college departments and tell people to venture into some other field of study.

The funny thing here, is that we needed an NFL quarterback to bring us back to reality.

Oh, and just a reminder.....there's more than a thousand scientists walking around today, who aren't completely convinced that Einstein was 'right'.  Yet no one seems to want to stop their thought process.  

Reflecting Over 'Silent Sea'

 Netflix produced a South Korean series that was released in the past week....called 'Silent Sea'.  I'll describe it as a Sci-Fi series, around eight episodes (45 minutes each).  Observations:

1. On script....I'd give it five stars and suggest that it ranks up there with 'Forbidden Planet' (1956).  It's actually a great story.

2.  Landscape (moon surface)?  Fairly realistic and I'd have to give them plus points there.

3.  Acting?  Some great moments....some marginal moments..

4.  The suggestion of corruption?  Drilled down, and about every 15 minutes.....you get another dose on why you can't trust the government.  

So I recommend a viewing via Netflix and would suggest it's probably one of the five best South Korean series of the past decade, and I'd suggest it in the top ten of US-made Sci-Fi productions.  

My only negative?  The last ten minutes is confusing, and needs a make-over.  I won't go into details, but will just say I had to watch that segment four times, and still don't get it.  

New York Story

 A number of NY sites are now reporting this and I'll try to simplify the whole episode.

The New York State Department of Health issued new guidance on how you dispense the Covid oral antibody and monoclonal antibody treatments.  In the midst of this....they admit....there's this shortage, so NOT everyone gets doses.

So here's the deal....because of 'systemic racism' (don't ask how they arrived at this)....they say that the way you dispense this out....has to give the 'non-white' society and the Hispanic culture folks....priority because of risk factors.  

Yes, if you were plain-white....with Covid and your doctor said that you had a bad case....getting the Monoclonal antibody treatment won't happen within the state of New York.  You'd basically have to drive just beyond the border, and get your prescription filled in another state.  

Illegal?  I'm guessing that come Monday....this will be taken into court to be challenged.  You can't make a case that one ethnic group over another....gets benefits.

But this also might be the time that people start to self-identify as American Indians....just for the hell of it, and just 'fake' it.

This also drives home the situation....why continue living in NY state?