Escapees

 Last week, Florida police pulled over some car at 4 AM on I-75.  Something caught their attention.

So here were two kids (boy-10, girl-11)....brother and sister.  Boy was driving the car.

After a number of questions.....police realized that the two were from North Port, Florida....about three hours to the south.  They'd driven mom's vehicle.

What triggered them to 'escape'?  Mom had decided that they were screwing up on the rules for their cellphones....so she took both away.  Kids got peeved, and decided to leave.

No charges.  

I sat and pondered over this.

First, it doesn't appear that they ever had a plan (something you'd expect out of Generation Z mental 'midgets'). 

Second, mom had reported the vehicle missing and the kids gone.  Once returned, if they were my kids.....I'd have zero trust in them forever, and I'd have to take the battery out of the car each night....to feel 'safe' that they wouldn't get stupid a second time....locking it up.

Third, historically speaking....back in the 1970s, you might have had a kid or two locally that did some crap like this, but they always drove in circles....never more than ten miles from the house.  These kids?  No circle crap....straight line....leave the state crap.

Fourth, from school....I'd question their grades, and wonder IQ-wise...if they were on the low-level of things. 

Fifth and final....the odds of them escaping a second time and getting to the Arizona border?  Oh, I'd say 50-50.  Might make an interesting TV series....'Escape from North Port'.  Kids on the run.....might be rather entertaining.

Useless People Syndrome

 I saw this in the past week, and it's been on my mind. 

In 1977 (out of high school), if you asked me how many people out of a 1,000 were activist-minded....I'd say one max.  

Today?  Out of a thousand, I would say at least a hundred are on some mindset daily, and another hundred will be in this activist role at least once or twice a week. 

Even at some church meeting, or some bowling situation....you probably will notice some guy or gal who are on some talking-points agenda, and want to convert you (like some cult-status situation).

It's just an odd feeling.....sitting in a pancakes shop, or in a airport, or at some coffee shop overhearing folks do their activist 'chatter'.

If they are a relative....you probably will do your best to just grin or flip the conversation to UAPs/UFOs, or to the latest Disney crap-movie.  

At some point, you might engage and offer blunt criticism or factual information, and in a matter of two minutes....you've destroyed the discussion they carried around (like some treasure-map they found).  The problem then becomes.....they've become skeptical of just about everything, from that point on.

Rather odd society we live in today.

Five Words You Probably Can't Utter Without Freaking Out Sensitive People

 1.  Homeless.  You can probably say houseless, or unsettled.  Trying to use the word 'outcast' or 'down-and-out'?  Just gets you in more trouble.

2.  Addict.  Someone will correct you and simply say that 'Joe' has a drug-abuse-disorder.  

3.  Exotic.  About half the people you meet today....if you were to use the word 'exotic'....would halt you and ask what exactly do you mean?  They would infer that old fashion 'exotic' is not today correct to use for new fashion 'exotic'.  

4.  Insane.  Yeah, you can't utter that phrase.  You can say 'that guy is gifted' but you can't say he's insane.  

5.  Hooligans.  Your definition of hooligans and the liberal mindset definition of hooligans....probably don't match up well.  

Solon And The Atlantis Story

 The whole idea of Atlantis existing....comes down to the way that Plato was told the story in his youth....by his grandfather.

The grandfather?  He'd sat in the presence of Solon, a older Greek guy who'd become a statesman in his older years.  In his youth,  Solon had been a traveler, and gone off to Egypt where he wandered into a temple.....getting a 'speech' by a Egyptian temple-boss....who spoke of Atlantis of the past (9,000 years ago).

So you are relying upon a story....told by three guys, over the space of fifty-plus years, an Plato remember all of the story in the context that each told the story, and putting this to paper.

This is my chief problem in the Atlantis story.  Beyond Solon, there just isn't any mention anywhere of Atlantis.  

Fictional?  Partly true?  Mostly true?  Anyone's guess. 

The Egyptian-temple-guy telling a mostly true story, but Solon making up fifty-percent to add to the story?  Well....you just can't be sure of this.  

My belief is that I'd like for the story to be entirely true....but having to rely upon three guys to tell the same story....is a pain.

The Movie 'They Live'?

 One of my top ten science fiction movies ever....'They Live'.  I've probably watched it at least four times, and if I'm ever channel-flipping at some hotel, and it comes on....I pause and watch the movie.

Stupid text?  Yeah, but you end up with wrestler Roddy Piper doing a 3-star job, and it's almost believable.  

Getting some movie like this produced today?  I don't think society would be able to handle it.  Too many things going on and they'd be convinced that life is all a CIA-run experiment.  

Your Choice?

I sat for a good ten minutes looking at this 'image'.  To be truthful, I just can't select the table.

If you said it was just Elon and Clarence Thomas....well, that would be awful easy.  

Course, they didn't say what was being served.  If this was Olive Garden food....I'd just pass and leave the building.

 

Vestiphobia?

 Vestiphobia is defined as having a irrational 'fear' of wearing tight-fitting clothing.  This usually starts off with some sweating and anxiety feelings....leading to claustrophobia.  

Back in my early days of the Air Force.....I'd been issued 'greens' and 'blues'.  You had two sets of dress blues....the summer 'lite' version, and the wool version for fall/winter. 

With a passion, I hated the wool uniform.  I won't say I had anxiety problems,  but I would sweat and feel extremely uncomfortable.  If I was forced into wearing it, I'd usually go spend my lunch-hour at the barracks where I took off the uniform entirely for forty-five minutes.  

I came across the term  Vestiphobia this week and thought a good bit about Senator Fetterman....the guy who walks around the Senate in shorts and extremely loose clothing.  It hit me....yeah, he's got a extreme case of Vestiphobia.  

The fact that the Senate is bending over backwards for Fetterman?  Eventually, some member is going to show up in a golf shirt and short-shorts, and they will realize allowing the Fetterman 'rule' to exist....makes no sense. 

Q-and-A

 1.  This UAW car strike deal.....what is the 'hinge' or real focus of the strike?

Well....the union wants some guarantee of people staying, when the E-car thing takes off.  That won't happen.....E-cars require two-thirds of the 'parts' that a gas/diesel car has.  So from production, to assembly.....you can probably anticipate around 20 to 30 percent of assembly/production guys being 'let-go'.  The car companies will be agreeable to pay more, but the guarantee of man-hours won't happen.

2.  Janet Yellen was asked to explain why the public doesn't believe in the good economic times 'brand', and said she can't understand their feeling?

Yeah, that's the comment that she made.  If you shop regularly....you know the true inflation rate better than Yellen herself.

3.  2030 Census predictions for California being discussed?

Yes, and the current trend is that California would lose five House seats at present.  Redrawing the districts?  You can anticipate a massive problem in telling various current members of the House of the approaching crisis.  Adding to the burden.....the general areas of 'loss' are defined as the SF/LA central region of California.  

4. Columbia migration to the US in 2024 anticipated to be 1-million-plus?

I sat and read a summary over the issue.  Prior to Covid, Columbia had a population of 51-million (at least the government claims that).  

Stores Story

 

I sat and pondered over this story.  So the basis of the problem is that theft has escalated around Chicago.....with various grocery operations shutting down.

You might have had three grocery stores within a mile of your place last year, and this year.....none of the three exist.

The problem I see goes to two factors....can you find half-a-billion to fix up a couple of stores to open, and can you stock it to run for a year....without theft occurring?

But then it occurred to me....in a city like Chicago, you'd have management positions to fill in such city-run stores.  Usually, it's either incompetent folks or relatives who end up as managers.....taking bribes or robbing the store themselves.

If they get that far?  Well....I would assume for every hundred dollars spent to fill the store and make a fair profit (5-percent).....you'd probably lose 30 dollars.  So it's a lose-lose-lose situation in the end.

On the list of fifty things that the government (any type) should not provide as a service?  Well....there's that problem as well.  Governments shouldn't be in the football stadium business, or selling booze, or providing free air conditioners.  

What'll actually happen?  Increasing factor at work....more grocery stores will shut down.  The few that remain by summer of 2024 in Chicago....probably will have a entry/exit post, with armed guards. I don't think anyone much believes it's a rational idea to sponsor or run city-owned grocery stores.  

RFK Jr

 Quietly, RFK Jr said that if the Democratic Party denies him primary opportunities....he'll halt his primary campaign and become a third-party guy.  If I were in the DNC....I'd probably start to worry over this threat.

First, in a 3-way match....Biden-RFK Jr-Trump, there's a lot of crazy things that could occur.  

I'd suggest in California....it's possible that RFK could win the state.  There's probably five 'leaning' states where RFK with a lot of effort....could overcome Biden's vote.

Second, the 270 Electoral Votes?  In a 3-way, I'm pretty convinced that no one would reach the 270, and you'd really prefer not to walk into January 2025....having a state-by-state vote in the House.

Third, RFK doesn't need a major campaign effort.  He needs 'X' to function, and have some support of Joe Rogan and a dozen-odd podcast folks.  

So I'm leaning toward the DNC waking-up and saying to Joe Biden....'enough'.....you need to say something about your health, and get out of the race.....allowing Newsom to enter, and allow RFK Jr to be a participant.  

This Whole Impeachment Thing Over Biden

I have three thoughts over how this will go.

First, Hunter Biden had people convinced that special favors could be accomplished via 'dad'.  Whether a single favor was ever truly accomplished?  You might line up forty 'customers' who felt such favors were occurring.....when all they got was three minutes of stupid Joe Biden-stories about his quarterback years or when he played for the Chicago Cubs that one season.

Item by item, you might go down and have each 'customer' stand and describe the situation, and eventually each remarks....they got utter BS for the $1-million they paid Hunter.  

Second, for whatever reason....as Hunter got cash....he distributed it to members of the family.  Bank transfers exist and it's hard not to ague about the movement of the cash.....after Hunter took his 'cut'.  

Illegal?  No.  People like to share their wealth, and if Hunter made $10-million in a year....after he paid $3-million on taxes.....maybe half the remaining amount was just his nice way to share the funds.

Third, if Biden was stupid to promise something for a cash situation, and that event did occur....then Biden is in trouble.  

How  would such evidence exist?  Well....the FSB (former KGB for Russia) probably did monitor a lot of the Ukraine 'deals' and I would imagine tapes do exist.  Joe being able to understand that?  I doubt it.

If only one single tape exists, and Joe promised something....which did occur, then the impeachment has potential to end in a bad way for Joe. 

It's a remarkable thing to observe.  

The Thing About Dogs

 Over the weekend, I observed this dog sitting by his two masters (a couple), and they were eating ice cream.  The dog did everything possible to be observant, patient, and consumed about the ice.  He wanted them to know....it'd be wonderful if they just gave him a 'bit' (not a good thing to give a dog pure regular ice cream).

Dogs have this problem.....they need to convey a message and they often go to crazy levels to get you (the stupid human) to react or bend to their will. 

For probably 20,000 years, it's been that way.  Out in the cave-days.....or with the sheep on the hillside....or in some dense forest with wolves around....the dog has been on a mission to get the human to just grasp things.  

I know....it's often felt the other way....we working to get the dog to grasp things, but in the dog's mind....they already know the score....the problems, and the crap existing in the world.

This thing about going with us....to the gas station, or grocery store, or to visit relatives?  The dog figures we might not be safe, or lose our way on the return 'leg', or be confronted with a problem requiring dog-sense.

Where would we be without dogs?  Silly question....even dogs know it's stupid.  

At the end of this ice cream session I viewed....the dog got a bare minimum taste off the spoon and seemed pretty happy.  He then led the couple out of 'danger' and onto some spot where there were fewer threats (at least in his mind).  

Not the stuff that Jack London wrote about....but then it's not Alaska either.  

The Average Temperature Problem

 Lets say you have a 6-room house.  You go and mount a temperature measurement device in each corner, plus the hallway of the home....amounting to 28 temperature readings.

All the room have one window....some have large windows....some two windows.  Some rooms face the north, some the west and some the south.  Some have trees affecting things.  Some heat ducts by the windows....some have heat ducts on the opposite side of the room. 

So over a 20-year period, can you say with any scientific authority....there's an average for the house....with a value that you'd put trust in?  

After a long pause.....you'd likely state that weather affected yearly temperatures...having windows open affected temperatures....having the temperature changing....there is NO average of value.

I see the same problem with people trying to say the Earth has an average  temperature, and you can reach some scientific level of 'trust'.  

Math Word Problem

 My construct:

X-high school (9th to 12th grade) has 800 students and has 34 teachers consuming 2.475,000 in pay/benefits).

Only 200 students are able to maintain a A or B level on grades.  400 students maintain a C or D level.  And the remaining 200 students are in failure status.

So my question is...what is the question and answer?

Logically, after you consider the whole math problem....why would you keep nine teachers or 200 students?  Cut the teachers and students, and save $675,000.  

I might give the students a 'warning' for three months but after that....why would you continue 'limping' along with a waste of time.  BK and McDonalds needs burger flippers.....send these 200 kids out into the flipper world. I might give each kid some small part of the saved $675,000....as a parting gift....just to show my kind nature.

Three Things That Went 'South'

 1.  Once all this entanglement stuff with legal cases came up on Trump.....it just got his name out in the public eye, and traumatized the public to be distrusting even  more of the DoJ, the FBI and various prosecution teams.  

It was the worst thing possible to dream up and start....hoping that he' stumble and fall because of witty lawyers.

2.  Hunter Biden buying a gun?  Here's a guy with 'real' Secret Service protection.....doing crack/cocaine (he even admits that) and signs some stupid document at the gun shop to say he's clean.

He never had a single logical reason for a gun. 

3.  This G-20 chatter about a 'digital ID'.....strongly resembles the Covid vax ID business.  

The odds of people accepting this?  It goes down dramatically once you figure this angle. 

This Maslow BS

 Back in the late 1970s....I had a Air Force room-mate who'd gotten into some college class, and he had some book which got heavily into Maslow's hierarchy of needs.  At the end of the class, he gave me the book and I browsed this Maslow stuff.  

Lets just say....I came off a farm in Alabama,  and at this point....I was 'uneducated' (holding just a high school diploma).

In simple chatter....a human being prioritizes things....whether he grasps this or not.  In the tribal game, you want security, food, and general shelter from bad climate. 

 After a while, you add layers of desires, and you keep prioritizing.  

In the modern era?  Well....you prioritize soft toilet paper, the type of soap in your bathroom, the amount of heat in the bathroom, and the quality of the towel hanging there. 

Your car?  You prioritize there.....asking for heated seats, or declining them.  You ask for the bigger engine....the satellite radio, and literally a hundred options.

I suppose that you even start to prioritize the news you hear.....the politics that keeps you up at night....preferring premium beer over cheap beer....buying  the more expensive motor oil over the cheap stuff....maybe even your preference over tunes.  

The thing....isn't life about prioritizing.....a thousand things a day?  And the key factor.....two-percent of folks don't give a damn about any prioritizing, and another two-percent over-dramatize life so much....that every second is about a priority over something?

I'm not sure if this Maslow stuff deserves 300 pages to explain, but it's just me speaking.

Can You Be Non-Schizophrenic And Hear Voices?

 Well.....yeah, but it tends to fit into special group of factors.

Example: under a severe lack of sleep.....say over an entire week....less than 10 hours of sleep.....you might think you are hearing voices.

Example: under some pretty traumatic life experiences.....you might have developed severe PTSD/stress, and you might think you are hearing voices.

Example: under starvation conditions (like a prisoner of war situation).....you might think you are hearing voices.

Example: there are plenty of recreational drugs now existing.....where you might trip out and think you are hearing voices.

So, here's the odd factor.  You could walk around and find twenty-odd people a day who admit some type of voice in their head, and it's unconnected to schizophrenia.  Course, with the recreational drug thing.....you might go back two or three times a week....regularly.....hearing Elvis talk about global warming, or hearing Captain Kangaroo lecture you about washing your hands, or hear Adolph Hitler's voice (in English) talking over some demon stuff.  

If you thought schizophrenia was something to worry about....sorry, but I just made this worry a bit bigger in scale. 

Polling Chatter

 State by state polling done by Reuters (just awful early in my humble opinion).

Biden versus Trump.  Trump passes 312 Electoral Votes.

Accurate?  Well....AZ, with corrective matters on voting day procedures....yeah, it probably goes to Trump.

Hawaii?  I'd suggest a lot of frustration  building up over Maui and fed help.  You might find some shift going on for the Trump team there.

What'll happen now?  I'm willing to say that the DNC folks will gather up and discuss how they play October to December, and whether it's time to push Biden out and allow five or six to suddenly enter the primary in January.  Yeah, both Harris and Newsom would be in the mix (with RFK Jr).  

So the big problem....all this negative effort by the news media.....having failed to limit Trump?  Yeah, and in some cases.....you've limited the profit potential of the NY Times, the WaPo, and CNN.  

Reuters allowing this to be a hot topic?  That's the odd thing....it doesn't make a lot of sense for a pro-Democrat news  organization to feed this to the public. 

A Trust Issue

 

I saw this in the AM today....trust in the mass media...over the years.

Early 1970s....people  leaning over to be Republican....were 60 to 70 percent on trust.  By 2022.....it was down to 14 percent.

For independent folks by 2022?  27 percent.

It was in the middle of the 1st Bush term, that I felt the 'system' had gone south, and it was involving print-media (newspapers, Newsweak, Nat'l Geographic, etc).  Once you got to 2012 and social media was in full-swing.....that decline was being noted as well.

The Covid era?  It just ramped up.  Even if you were watching some regional news....the Channel 8 'squad'.....you felt that the theme/brand was cranked-up to be fake.

I can't really watch the NBC Today-Show today....without feeling a element of mistrust.  CNN?  I have to mute things on a continual basis.  Trying to rea USA-Today?  I just want to pull out a red-marker and highlight BS commentary.  

I'm at the point of asking.....why would I spend 50-cents on some crappy newspaper?  Why would I waste thirty minutes watching some bogus local news that I need to mute on occasion.  

Dissolving of trust?  It's at a all-time level.  I would imagine the money-guys for the major networks are discussing the lack of viewers, and how salary levels can't escalate any longer (cuts have to come).  The day of CNN being sold to some Mexican media company?  I  kinda expect it to happen any day now.  

Extending to sports?  Well....yeah.  The NFL and NBA have done enough to trigger a decline in viewership.  Same development going on for MLB. 

Where things will be in 2030?  It's an  interesting thing to ask.

Vax Stuff

Yeah, this idea has been on my mind for a while, and Boaz summed it up well.

The flu vax being a sure-fire solution?  Well.....no, you can't really say that.  For all those military years where I was mandated to have the flu vax each fall....in most of those years, I still had a flu episode.  Oddly, in the two decades after that period, where I absolutely did NOT take the flu vax....I might have had a light case of a 24-hour flu bug....maybe twice.  

There's probably something else to the Covid vax business, but we will never know the rest of the story. 
 

Five Things You Tend To Notice Now

 1.  The more that Joe Biden talks (heading toward the campaign)....the more BS he utters, which isn't true or convincing.  

Just an odd factor.....maybe he should only make one speech/talk per week.

2.  Strange....I've seen at least five articles this past week....on the idea of dumping VP Harris in 2024's election effort.  All were left-leaning news sources too.

3.  One odd thing out of this G20 conference held.....they all agreed (US too) that national ID's....digitally connected....is a top priority.

Odds of the US going this?  1-percent chance.

4.  Odds of the Department of Education going away entirely....should Trump win?  I'd say it's pretty close to 100-percent chance.

5.  Some kind of odd game being played out by AOC....some hint she's married....some hint that she's not married.

I don't think she understands the definition of married.  

Misinformation Story

 The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force gave some speech a couple of days ago, and hyped-up....that misinformation and disinformation campaigns are currently going on....developed to "recruit members to their cause, divide our society domestically, and create rifts."

I sat and pondered upon this. 

To be truthful....it's a warning that is probably twenty years too late.  

To also be truthful....just a lot of BS and chatter being pumped out by various Air Force leaders.....triggering people to question things, and further divide the ranks.

Part of this statement made....suggested Artificial Intelligence was being used to produce the crap.  Maybe, but you see a lot human BS created as well....if you go looking for it.

Where this is all leading to?  I could easily see a point within five years where some event occurs, and in the 'blink' of an eye....you create a path where 1,000 enlisted and officers make a remarkable decision to exit the Air Force as quickly as possible.  One single event....creating a path where people get out within a year....when they had long term plans before.  

Social media part of the blame?  Yeah, but you can throw in woke-stuff, and poor decision-making as well.

About a dozen years ago, I noticed a particular overseas base where the commander decided that the barracks would be alcohol-free (meaning no beer, wine or booze in any room).  At the time, I was around the base (retiree status) and I asked one airman how things 'work' now, and he responded.....he kept his beer in his pick-up (in the barracks parking lot).  He remarked....that probably was illegal in some way, and he felt stupid doing it.  

Bold new world out there.

I Had Two Incompetent Teachers In High School

 It's not worth discussing, and I didn't really figure this out until my late 20s.

The first teacher was a science teacher that I had for four years.....who absolutely prevented evolution from coming up in the class.  I actually figured her tactic of skipping chapters (she'd start the year on chapter 6, then go to chapter 4, then onto chapter 16, and so on).  At the end of each year....the one single chapter on evolution would have been quietly skipped.

You can laugh over this today, but it's just remarkable this occurred each year.  

Getting knowledge across?  No....you eventually figured out that memorizing about 25 things for each test....was  the only way of passing.  After that....you would forget everything taught.  She did a remarkable job in making you hate science.  

The second teacher situation was a series of math teachers that the school had over a four-year period (the old gal had health issues and was gone mid-way through the 6th grade, the gal for the same class for the 7th grade stayed one single year, same for the 8th, and 9th grade).  

None of the four seemed capable of getting a simple problem across to the majority of the class. It became a root-canal-like experience sitting there daily.

This was the early 70s, and these were mostly people who'd passed out of the college system in 1950s/early 1960s.  

If you'd just gone to a self-taught or occasional seminar system?  I probably would have been ready by age 15 to test-out and progress out of high school.  I think a third of all kids are capable of that level (even today).

The fact that probably a quarter of all kids are low-IQ and just see school as baby-sitting?  Well....yeah, that factor is driving a lot of this poor quality business that you see. 

Oregon Story

 

I sat and pondered over this story in the news from yesterday.  

Basically, Oregon has passed a law and said that things have reached a level....that we don't want to burden stupid kids....so ease up on reading, writing and math in high school.

What'll happen?  I would suggest one of three things.

First, you will start to notice in three years that those graduates of high school in Oregon....arrive at college, and can't meet the general entry requirements.  So the colleges will rig up a semester (maybe two) of fake college....basically charging you $2,000 minimum to take 'real' high school math, and English classes (instead of college-level classes).

Yeah buddy.....what you didn't learn in high school.....you will waste six to twelve months in college (call it the '5th' year).

Second, about ten years into this era.....people start to remark that young folks can marginally read at the 6th-grade level....at age 25.  Nationally, folks start to point out what seems to be a low-IQ status of Oregon residents.  Some term will be created....'he seems oregonish' will be uttered (meaning not too bright).

Third and final.....blacks only make up around 12-percent of the demographics.  If you throw the map up....the majority (say near 75-percent) live around Portland, Bend and Eugene.  If you head to the eastern half of the state....I doubt if they make up more than 3-percent of the population.  Maybe they injected 'people of color' to mean Hispanic folks....but I doubt if they want to be included in this group.

More or less, this is just going to drive the wedge to split half of the Oregon off to Idaho at a faster pace.

Waste of Money Story

 I paused over a Wall Street Journal item for today: "DECONGESTANT IN COLD MEDICINES FOUND INEFFECTIVE."

Basically, for several dozen cold medications  in the US.....they never had any effective 'power'.

If you'd asked me about in 1980....to recommend anything....I'd say most did almost nothing.  Same in the 1990s, and for the whole past 20 years.

How much have I wasted?  Probably well  over $1,000 since August of 1977.  

What'll happen?  I'd say almost 95-percent of people will continue on....buying the same crap.  

How to Properly Money-Launder 'Bad' Cash

Back in 2018....it came up in the banking news....ABLV, a Latvian bank....was noted for serious money-laundering.  This involved not only Russian money-laundering, but also cash for North Korea.

The US had a serious meeting with Latvian leaders and kinda hinted in a serious way.....they needed to correct some serious problems.

The odds that ABLV was the only Latvian bank doing this?  That's a curious question.

But that wasn't the only problem....Latvian was allowing shell companies to be staged and operated, without much control.  You'd just show up....file some paperwork, and 'X-to-X' would be created.  It might amount to be strictly a mailbox where 20-million a year would flow into, and out....seemingly on paper to be legit but mostly non-existent.

So after the money was cleaned in Latvia, it'd move onto Cyprus....where another company would be created....another mail-box scheme.  Here, you could show enormous losses or business deals being made (at least on paper), and then the money could flow cleanly back to the US.

Yeah....in a way, this would be a way that Hunter Biden might have moved cash around.  Some Ukrainians gave him money, which he shifted to Latvia....cleaning it.  Then he flipped the money to a fake shell company out of Cyprus, and then delivered it back to the US. 

So there's this curious part of the story....around back in the fall of 2018, Cyprus got all heated up and dumped 20,000 fake business accounts....to show they were 'serious'.  There is no evidence that Hunter Biden's fake account was in the 20,000.  Maybe he was never into using Cyprus banks, or that his account avoided the cleansing.  

Any of this reported to IRS?  No, but they might now be interested.

Just Three Odd Things I Noticed In The News

 1.  The CIA went out (early on in the Covid business) and hired 'experts' (people who weren't already working for the CIA)....to proclaim that Wuhan labs didn't trigger the outbreak of Covid. 

It's like they needed to protect someone or something.

I saw this yesterday and generally shake my head.  You'd almost have the opinion now that this was a 'plan' of some type to bring down the massive economy of China (which is obviously underway at this point).  

2.  The Air Force sent up a F-22 to shoot down another Chinese spy-balloon 'thing'.  Front-page news?  No.   You might have accidentally noted it.....maybe one American out of a thousand saw the story.

3.  Polls say three out of four Republicans now say 'ditch-McConnell'.  Odds of this happening?  Zero.  

Why No Democratic Governors Have A Chance Now For The Presidency

 You can go down the list of all current Democratic governors, and find that any of them who attempt a 'run'.....will have hundreds of videos made of the crappy condition of their states, from drugs and crime.....to extreme poverty.  

It's an odd position to be in....tons of effort to get to the governor's chair, and then nothing to show for four years of effort.

My Two Walks of Arlington Cemetary

 The first time I ever walked through Arlington....we had a senior NCO of the organization who'd died of cancer (went from office-work to a hospital setting) and was dead about four months later.  This was in the DC region.

Arlington was his choice to be buried.  His problem (not really his after the death)?  To get on their schedule for a service, it takes 6 months.  

So we waited in the organization, and the day of the funeral came up.  We left the office and took the Metro over, and met at the chapel.  

It was probably one of the most impressive days out that I had in DC in that 3.5 year period. A ceremony concluded, and we walked with the casket for about three-quarters of a mile....on a damn-hot day (easily 94 degrees, with 75-percent humidity).  By the time it concluded....mid-afternoon....I was in a heat-distressed situation.  I made my way to a soda-machine and drank a bottle of water and then a Pepsi.

About two months later....I decided to spend eight hours over at the cemetery.  It is a unique place and you simply are amazed at the history laid out.  

My general advice?  Don't attempt to park there....park way on the south side of Arlington, along the Metro, and take the rail over to the cemetery.  Bring along a minimum of 1-liter of beverage.  I'd suggest a combo of Gatorade and water.  Spring or fall months would be recommended.  After you conclude this....if you still have an hour left....walk over the river to the Lincoln Memorial, and conclude near the WW II Memorial. Then ride the Metro back.  If you don't have energy or have a hip problem....forget about it.  It's a challenge but worth it.

Odds of a Biden Impeachment Hearing?

 Six months ago, I would have said 10-percent chance.  

Today?  Prior to December, I give it now a 60-percent chance that the House will have a hearing....recommend at least three charges, and send it to the Senate.  

Two-thirds of the Senate would have to convict.  I don't see that number presently existing.  However, there is this odd business that no one really wants Biden to be the 'runner' in the 2024 primary.  There's just zero interest in giving him four additional years. 

Adding to this....no one wants VP Harris as President for 12 months while we play 'primary'.

So I'll add this little thought.....all of this BS that has occurred....can't have been missed by the FSB (Putin's people....the former KGB).  I'm guessing a dozen audio recordings exist of Joe making a 'deal', and if Putin handed them over....the Senate Democrats would have a long-term problem in not convicting Joe Biden.  

How this script would occur?  As Tucker Carlson interviews Putin....this topic will occur, and I'm guessing the conversations will be mentioned....in a funny way.  

Joe Biden then defending his 'deal'?  I would imagine that he'll say that was not how he worded some arrangement with the Chinese or Ukrainians, while Putin's recording will flat-out show him as a liar.  

At that point....you can fold up the chairs and anticipate the impeachment has only one single outcome, and VP Harris just grinning. 

Weird?  Yeah....it's just a weird thing.  And Hunter?  Well.....whatever cash he has left at that point....with his paintings....is 'it'.  He'll be broke in twelve to twenty-four months.  

Popularity Story

 Over the weekend, I noticed this story.  Most everyone that you might engage with (from the corner bakery, to the local church).....has some opinion over this topic.  

Even people who voted for Joe....will be split.  I would imagine 50-percent will agree, he's had a serious problem in selling himself or his 'brand/messsage'.

I blame five things:

First, for the two ladies who've run his White House press commentary....neither did what I'd consider a 4-star job.  Psaki probably ran the PR business at a 3-star level, but KJP has been a marginal 2-star player at this.

Second, for whatever health reason....people watch his speeches like it was a roller-derby situation....awaiting a 'wreck' of a comment.  

Third, you just don't see him in action much.  There are staged events where he's on a bike, or giving some speech.  But if you pull out the WH schedule and ask....what does Joe do for eight hours....there's typically ONE single event listed.  The remaining seven hours a day?  Unlisted.  

Fourth, you can tell on these overseas trips....Joe is tired and run-down.  

Fifth and final.....this Hunter business has been like some seven-ton boat anchor.  There's not a single day for the past two years....where something isn't tossed to the public in a negative way about Hunter.  

 As for the NYT's telling this story of limited popularity?  It's just sending a message to the campaign team.....you got a ton of work to do for the remainder of 2023.  

Five Q-and-A

 1.  What is the simple explanation of the 'Bell-Curve'?

No matter how you stack the deck or think you are genius....only about 10-percent of people are in what you'd call the gifted range.  About 30-percent are in the somewhat gifted range.  And sixty-percent are definitely less-than-gifted.  

2.  Is there anything ever clean about 'energy'?  

No....not unless you lived out of some cave or hut in Montana.

3.  Are a quarter of the US population living in some cult-like trance?

Yeah, it's best that you not explain this to them.

4.  Why can't movie studios produce anything original?

Original writing has been dead since the 1970s.

5.  Can a governor suspend some right from the Constitution?

Like that NM governor suspending open-carry of weapons?  Well, yeah.  She could halt all booze sales if she felt that was a threat to mankind.  She could probably even suspend sex, if she felt it was some 'evil'.  

Old People Stuff

 I sat and looked over this listing.

I probably haven't used a rotary phone since like 1988 (Panama days).  

My MySpace account?  It's still there, I checked back during Christmas. 

Phonebook?  The Germans haven't issued one for about five years now.  

My paper-map?  When I left AZ in 1992....I threw the old one away.  

My one dictionary?  When Bitburg was closing down, I took my one and only dictionary on the office-desk home (dated from 1981).  I still have it but I doubt if I've opened it since 2000.  

Opening up an encyclopedia?  Probably for the last college class in 1985.  

I never opened a AOL account.  

What Would Happen In A Scenario Where Joe Biden Passes On Before The Primary?

 Well.....things go to hell in a hand-basket.

You end up with VP Harris moving up....a selection process where a new VP is pursued, and has to pass through the Senate.  It's anyone's guess who Harris would select, but I'm guessing she would NOT select Governor Newsom.

President Harris would then enter the primary period, and likely find that there's not a lot of enthusiasm for her.  RFK would likely gain quickly some momentum and the general view would be that he's the only possible candidate at that point.

The ability of the news media to sell Harris and her 'brand'?  She'd have to clean up her poor speech problems, and present herself as some 'great' political figure (which would be difficult).

It's one of those amusing discussions that you've have in a bar after the third beer.  

Here's the odd factor....there beyond Joe Biden, there must be at least fifteen Senators/House members....in this age group, and I could see some 60-day period where you might have Biden and two or three 'old' folks pass on.   The media question....isn't it remarkable that so many old folks died?  And the response would be...yeah, why is that?

Once There Was a Jungle

 I was stationed in the mid-1980s in Panama....for three years.  It was an rather odd period, and I could probably write a 400-page book over local events/history.  

One interesting aspect that I got into a discussion one day with a American canal employee (he'd been there for years)....about the southern part of the country....the Darien Gap.

It's the southern quarter of the country and extends for about 30 miles into Columbia.

On jungle status?  Five-star.

Back in the 1950s....some discussion had come up about making a road-way through the jungle....so you drive from Alaska all the way to the southern tip of Chile.  Eventually, they reasoned that the Gap was not capable of supporting such a road.  Nothing was ever built.

Prior to the last decade, you'd hear about such-and-such adventure team either treking through the jungle there, or even taking a 4x4 jeep down some trail.

Key negatives?  Snakes, gators, and Pumas.  It's about sixty to eighty miles (depending on where you leave from or arrive), and you can figure a max of maybe ten to fifteen miles a day (at least in the 1980s).  Figure four to six days of walking in such a setting.

Well...it got brought up in the past week....around 350,000 folks (mostly Venezuelan folks) have made the trip in 2023 so far....heading north to the US border.  My guess is that it'll hit 450,000 by the end of the year.  Your guess for 2024?  It might go well above half-a-million.  

An established trail now?  Yeah.  And I'd guess that a thousand folks a day are now walking this trail as a minimum.

Panama disturbed by this?  You see differing views.  The Gap was supposed to be a barrier where people didn't penetrate the country.  As long as people continue walking north, I don't think it'll be a big deal.

Affecting the population of Venezuela?  Well....before Covid, they had a population of 28-million.  Since Covid and this exit-stuff?  I doubt that the 28-number is correct and might suggest that it's starting to get near 26-million.  

The problem is...once you prove the Gap trail is utterly safe......nothing much would hinder a 12-year old Venezuelan kid from taking the walk and exiting crappy conditions in Venezuela.  3,200 mile walk?  If you throw in an occasional bus or train ride....a kid could probably arrive in El Paso in 20 days.  

My View Of A Trump-Biden-RFK-DeSantis November 2024 Election

 About every week that goes by, I see the odds of a 3-person November election, and even a 4-person election....increasing.

How you'd develop this?  If you had a dozen or more states create a barrier for RFK to be on the Democratic primary, or forbid Trump's name on the primary....we'd advance to Biden and DeSantis.  But by mid-summer, I'd suggest both RFK and Trump going onto various ballots in differing states.

It would be nearly impossible to predict an outcome in a state like California....if you said all four were on the ballot, or even having a Biden-RFK-DeSantis situation.  Just having RFK win California alone....would create problems in reaching the 270-point in the Electoral College.

Then you add in a state or two like Florida and Texas, where Trump would likely win.

In a no-win Electoral College situation....ONLY the top three vote-getters move to the House state-by-state vote in January of 2025.  I'm pretty sure DeSantis would be the low guy.

How would Democratic blocks go if you had a choice of RFK or Biden?  Unknown.  Could you have a case where Biden wins the Presidency again, but with less national votes than Trump or RFK?  Yeah, and that would demonstrate an incredibly weak future for Biden's next four years.

This discussion popping up more often?  I'd say between now and January....it'll be openly discussed.

A Billion-Dollar Loss Story

 I'm into Spotify (the podcast operation).  I'll admit....it's probably not more than five to eight hours a month, and I'm fairly picky about who I listen to.  

This past month, the management of Spotify has had to admit that a billion dollars went out to 'hire' (contract) several big-name folks, and this was a colossal failure with marginal listeners.

Who?  Kim Kardashian, Prince Harry/Meghan Markle, and Mr/Ms Obama.  To be honest, there's probably another forty-odd folks....who were hyped-up to the management and they just fell for the 'gimmick' of hiring names without thinking of the people who might be interested in them.

To be honest, after you've heard Prince Harry/Meghan chat for about six minutes.....you probably begin to wonder how they could fill a single hour, or even a weekly 'show'.  

Crappy management behavior by Spotify?  It reminds me of the way that various baseball players and their agents try to sell 7-year contracts to half-wit owners, and a team ends up with a marginal player who might only perform for four of the seven years contract.  

But it establishes an 'end' for the fake promi-folks.  

These podcasts becoming a big deal?  Here's the factor.....classic TV (NBC, ABC, and CBS) has hit some peak and gone into a spiral.  There's just a lot of crap TV and people are looking for something 'different'.  Podcasts fills the void.  

My Reservation-Work Story

 Early in my Air Force career, I worked in civil engineering and was assigned to McChord AFB, WA.  Around the 3rd month, it came up that the fence 'line' on the reservation (not the base) was rusted up and they wanted a team to run around 5,000 ft of security fencing (fresh new wire, posts).   None of us had ever been out to this area (it was off the base by a quarter mile.....to the entrance).

So Monday came, and a civilian in our shop led me and two airmen.  We started at 7:30 AM to gather tools required, and had a vehicle ready by 7:45.  Then we drove.  

You had to exit the base and drive about a mile on some public road....to a gate with a lock.  We had the key....we entered.  From that point, it took 45 minutes to reach this 'end' of the reservation.  

The journey?  As urban as Tacoma was....this was like some 'lost' situation.  We'd come to a fork in the road, and the civilian would say 'turn-here'.  There were probably 20 of these forks.  By the end, I had no reference in my head.  

Gravel/dirt trail.  No signs.  You could never get above 20 mph because of trail conditions.  

So it's about 8:55 AM when we arrive at the site, and yes.....it's probably 1940s fencing there.  Dirt-motorcyclists had discovered the reservation and illegally used it.  It made sense to replace the fencing and put up 'forbidden' signs.  But I looked at the immense journey it took to get there.   

The dozer guy cleared the whole path for us to put up the new fence.  

But the issue is....we basically work from 9 AM to 10:45 AM....then leave for chow, return at 1:15 PM...to work until 3:30 PM....for a grand total of 4 hours of actual work a day.  

Whatever the planning people had suggested for four weeks of work, would never be resolved with four people pulling with only 16 man-hours a day.   We were wasting half the work-day in driving out to this remote site.  

After two weeks of working on this, I was shaking my head.  I was sitting in a marginal Chevy 1.5 ton seat for about 4 hours a day.  Nothing much on the fence was advancing.  So I begged off the crew and just said give me the worst job left in the shop....tar-crew for base streets.   

I suspect that the fence crew was still working the issue three months later. 

The reservation thing comes up the year after I left McChord.  One of the guys from our crew sent me a note (with a pic) over a new 'adventure'.  This reservation thing attracted his attention, and he convinced his GF, and another airman couple....to do a camping trip out into the reservation.  

They camped for a whole weekend....somewhere near a stream.  Whole place was full of mosquitoes.  He sent me a picture of the four (at the conclusion of the trip).....each person had at least 100 mosquito bites.  

My Humble Thoughts Over Michelle Obama Running (The Rumor)?

 For about four months, there's been persistent rumors of Michelle Obama getting into the primary of 2024, and running because of Joe Biden's 'problems'. 

Frankly, I see the story as BS. 

My four observations?

1.  She's never held an elected office...ever.  Not even a mayor job (like Mayor-Pete).

2.  Speech-wise.....she has probably given forty-odd speeches but there's nothing remarkable.

3.  If you did ask her any foreign affairs questions.....I don't think she can much of anything beyond pointing to the location on a map.

4.  If she's the 'sole' person for the primary, beyond RFK who never gets mentioned....what's that say about the depth of the party for big-time players?  Note, from this past week, Governor Newsom said 'NO' that he's not running.  

So I see this as a lame PR thing that some journalists are hyping her for President, when the odds are heavily against her.  

But let me add two unusual factors.  First, selling her to the black community won't be that easy because they see her as having 'status' (wealth,  college).  Black guys will even bring up this Obama drug-stuff and gay rumor.....to say she didn't see all of this happening.  

Second, she's never really encountered a debate.  Donald versus Michelle?    

It's a curious BS story, but it just isn't a likely thing.  

18 Observations About Modern Mankind

 1.  People generally want 'something' to be true, or 'something' to be false.  Whether it is true, or false....doesn't matter.

2.  A store that is losing $10,000 a day on theft....probably has a ticking 'end'.  You can't make up the losses by charging $3 for a stick of gum, or $21 for a cheap $7 Mexican-made t-shirt.

3. The statistics for death-by-flu (going back over 40 years)....mostly resembles the death-by-Covid (going back over four years).   It's just that we never seemed to talk much about doom/gloom of flu.

4.  Turning politics into a Jesus-versus-Satan situation....probably does religion an injustice.  

5.  If you paid some college $100,000 over four years, and you haven't expanded your intellect or comprehension....you've wasted four years of your life on top of the $100k debt.  

6.  You can't make low-IQ people (those with 80 or less) any smarter than what they already are.  Even if you promote them into management....to get rid of them from one situation....you simply make the low-IQ guy think he's capable when he isn't.

7.  If you bring up Covid 'contact' via eyeballs with a guy wearing a KN-95 mask.....the odds are that he won't believe you.  

8.  At present pace, I expect legal challenges to occur shortly where a 9-year-old kid says he's smart enough and doesn't want any additional schooling. 

9.  If you had 500,000 new migrants show up....none speaking English, or showing a trade-craft situation....what exactly do you think they will be doing for the next three or four years while you house them in a $75-a-night hotel room?  

10.  The amount of RISKS that you encounter from getting up and laying down at night.....are probably 100 times the level of what people in the 1960s faced.  

11.  On 'trust', I would imagine that half of the general public has lost a fair amount of trust in their doctor, their minister, and their school officials.  Skeptical nature is at a all-time level.

12.  If you randomly asked 100 people (18 or over) if they've read the book '1984'....I doubt if you find more than 15 of them who admit this.

13.  I'd estimate that one-quarter of the general public has delusionary problems, but are quiet happy to remain in this sort of mind (like that Elwood P. Dowd character in Harvey).  You shouldn't try to bring them back into reality.

14.   If you start counting at 6 AM with local news and pay attention throughout the day....the word 'crisis' probably gets uttered at least thirty times.  If you ask people to define crisis....it'll come out like some PhD-level chatter that makes no sense.

15.  Life is mostly about theatrics....presenting an image or brand or message.  You already start with this gimmick by the end of 1st grade.

16.  Generally, if you wake up and suddenly realize you are in the middle of a cult....it's best to say very little, and show minimal 'fret' or worry as you exit the mess. 

17.  You need PhD-level people to think about problems.  You don't want a PhD-level person to run your office or company, or city/state.  

18.  There is no such thing as cheap electricity.  Maybe it existed in the 1960s/1970s.....but it's long gone now.

Poverty Stimulation?

 I was sitting and reading this piece over Highland Park (the city in Illinois).  Apparently, someone in the city gov't had this idea.

They wanted the public there (30k residents) to get some idea about poverty.  No one says why this was necessary.....just that they could 'teach' you.

So a “poverty simulation event” was arranged where well-off people (don't know how they figured the dividing line)....would get some play-action to pretend being poor for 2.5 hours.

Then the story goes....this was to be done at some local well-to-do country club.

Now, I'm from the rural region of Alabama and will admit that I've never been to a country club.  I did work with a lady in the 1990s, and she would get into these discussions about her growing up in Ohio, and her family had some membership in a country club (primarily for golf reasons).  So I have an idea how they function.

Looking over this....I don't really grasp how 2.5  man-hours can be spent....pretending to be poor.  I'd probably show up at the event and order a $14 cocktail right before I entered the poverty-room.  

I'd mingle with other folks from the club....occasionally sneaking back out to freshen up my cocktail (three or four times).  By the end of the 2.5 hours.....I probably wouldn't remember that much.

The problem with this silly game is that you end up with stupid city management people (an IQ of 80 or below but they have a college degree).....who are engaging you to be as stupid as they are.  

Without a drink, I probably would have engaged in this, and told each poverty person....lets get ahead.  There's work over at such-and-such place, and we can work a second-shift at the hammer-factory.  I'd show them the light of work, money and missing out on poverty.

Yeah, I would have been kicked out of the poverty pretend-stuff, and the club might have suspended me for 7 days for bad-boy behavior.  

Here in the end of my summary....I just kinda wonder....how many people did show up for the poverty pretend deal at the country club?  Five.....ten? 

My Thoughts On Tucker Carlson Interviewing The Gay Guy Who Hooked-Up With Obama

 Five observations:

1.  This all occurred in 1999....so the guy says.  At this point, Obama had been married 6 to 7 years.  

2.  Getting off crack is awful hard, and usually you spend 90 days in some rehab center.  If Obama did get clean....where did he disappear to for 90 days?

3.  Based on the way the story was told.....there must be a minimum of 1,000 Chicago folks (mostly guys) who knew the sexual habits and drug preference of Obama.  

4.  All this guy-to-guy sex and no news source picked up on this for 20 years?

5.  A totally invented character....running for President, where no one ever dug into his history?  News media has ruined their reputation for a whole generation.