'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.