That Bridge

 

In the past week, I've probably spent 4 hours watching/reading over the Baltimore bridge that was 'hit' and collapsed.  

It is a fascinating thing....how many ships came in and out of the port over the past thirty years....never once collapsing the bridge. 

As for the clearing time?  I have no doubt that the damaged portions will be removed within sixty days (being clear by mid-June).

But as for the construction phase?  Yeah, environmentalists will step in and various lobby groups....to ensure it's only built by black construction companies (likely hiring 90-percent illegals to perform the work).  

I don't think the opening ceremony will be until 2033 (earliest).  Adding to this....some group will emerge and demand that a statue be on the end of the new bridge to hone the half-dozen migrant pot-hole crew members.  

Billions?  Without any doubt, this will exceed two billion easily.  

The funny thing?  I'll predict some Chinese company comes up and says they can rebuild it in 18 months, with various past projects as evidence.  But to accomplish this....they will ask for permission to bring in 10,000 visa-approved Chinese folks to handle the work.  That's my prediction.

NY City Story

 I sat and read through this NY Post story....'free' mental health services to undocumented migrants...$15-million in funded resources.

The reality of this?  You can take one single mental clinic of a sixty-odd folks....having to speak Chinese, Spanish and forty-odd languages.  Then you go and figure the various issue.

The $15-million?  Well....it'll be spent in a single month, if you count in drug therapy, alcohol/drug rehab, and costs.

The fact that 3,000 folks seeking help....probably won't see employment for a year or two minimum?  Yeah.

For all the good that they suggest they might be doing....I just see it as a 'pit'.

Three Thoughts

 First, I've come to some belief that an element now exists in the US...where political ideology is being organized around a more developed factor where less intelligent (dumber) people are recruited and developed into a cult-like ideology. 

In this group, you get a list of thoughts, without much discussion being conducted.  They are simply dumped upon you, and the reaction is....repeat the process and hope that no one asks questions.  

The fact that college-level 'kids' are in this group?  Yeah, that worries me that they'd be this stupid/naïve. 

Second, I've come to believe that around 20-percent of the general public that one might bump into.....are probably qualified in the status of being 'stupid'.  Half of them might eventually emerge and improve their status....the other half will stay stupid for the remainder of their lives.  My problem? Guessing which group I'm talking to, and if I should waste 10 minutes talking 'sense' into them....bringing them out of the 'pit'.

Third, I watched a video today....of a guy who walked into a Wal-Mart and asked the three young 'clerks' about getting a left-handed hammer.  The three probably spent at least fifty seconds....engaged in looking up a left-handed hammer.  Far as I could tell....they weren't willing to give up on the search (that's a positive).  On common sense?  I'm giving up on them.

The STEM Dumbass Problem/Agenda

I sat and read through this commentary by a Princeton college student...an essay/commentary over the unfairness in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses.

His emphasis?  Well....not everyone arrives at Princeton to get into STEM classes....equally prepared. 

I pondered over this for a while, in a long thought process.

One of the top ten things I learned upon leaving the farm in 1977, and over the next five years....there were just a fair number of people who were educationally....unprepared.  I'm not saying they were stupid, but that they were given x-amount of education and some of it...stuck, while some of it just dissolved into thin air.

As I reach age forty....this belief got worse.  I had the opinion that probably 40-percent of high school kids were arriving in some Air Force job skill....marginally getting some skill after 12 weeks of tech-school.

Today?  I'm in full agreement that a fair number (maybe half of America's high school graduates can't handle science, technology, engineering, and mathematics basics.  I might even add literature/plain English to the list as well.

But the question is...if you arrived at Princeton and seem to be unable to handle the STEM classes....what's the college to do with you?  Lower the expectation?  Add a 5th year to bring you up to date?  Block you entirely because you aren't that capable?  

Then you have the screwed-up problem....if you have Asian kids step up and have the skills....should you deny seats to Princeton to these kids....because of the unfair nature of things?  

Personally?  The best solution is to make a new second Princeton university....called Princeton-prep.  Tell the remarkable kid applying if you don't pass the STEM mandated levels.....no problem, we'll help you improve.  For the nifty price of $49,500....we will give you a Princeton-prep situation.....doing real high school level STEM crap.  Then to really sell this to the Princeton leadership....I won't hire professors ($90,000 cost per year)...I will hire real plain high school teachers at $55,000 a year.  

Milei Comment

 I saw this today and pondered over it for an hour.  

It's hard to find an economist who advocates printing money....just to flush the system and keep people in some positive mindset.  Politicians on the other hand....would readily agree...seeing no evil in the printing of money.

We never discussed this idea in my rural Alabama high school.  It was around two years later....I sat reading a article over finance (at the base library), and came to grasp the printing of money factor.

Even if you sat in a coffee shop today, and engaged in conversation on this idea....I suspect that forty-percent of people would not grasp what 'printing' really means or how our economy performs (past, present or future).

What Milei says?  Well....to be honest, most colleges are already 'printing' degrees and handing them out to stupid people.....making them think they are wise enough for a college degree, when they aren't that wise or intellectual.

I sat this week watching some 24-year old 'kid' (female) who was fairly disturbed.  She'd finished up college back in the summer of 2023, and her job prospects (now going 8 months) were two temp-jobs (came and went) and currently a part-time job at some coffee shop (I assume shift-manager).  She was peeved over the value of the two degrees she had (one of which related to acting), and that she spoke a second language.  In her mind, the degrees were supposed to open doors, and a real salary.

There's a crazy reality developing....where you feel like some folks (college-bound and college-delivered folks)....are developing into some kind of cult.  

The Five Outcomes of Conversations

It's just an odd topic to think about....what has developed around the concept....someone asking you 'why want you talk about 'such-and-such'?'.

There can only be five responses:

1.  I have no interest in conversing over this topic.

2.  To be honest, I just don't know enough to engage or have an opinion.

3.  I have zero interest or insight to share in such a conversation.

4.  To be honest, engaging with you....will only get you hyper or freaked-out. 

5.  I've got better things to do than waste 5 minutes on some bull$hit topic of 'such-and-such'.  

End of the story.

It's amazing that people have started to reach a level where they know the conversation path, and how they are measuring their response to the five potential outcomes.  The fact that response '4' and '5' come up often?  Yeah, that probably provokes a bit of Einstein-like calculations.  

Series Review

 I sat this week and watched the Netflix series....'The Three Body Problem' (8 episodes).

Pure science fiction?  Yeah, and it took various twists/turns.

Basic story.....some Chinese gal is dragged in the 1960s into a research project....to send a message out into space, and at some point.....gets a return message.  This return message basically says....don't go any further, or you will invite 'trouble'.

Well....the Chinese gal goes ahead.  

What you have develop is some alien culture that is in need of a new planet, and decides Earth might be a great place.  

The rest of the story dwells over the Earth folks who stumble upon the alien business....some folks die, and there's some attempt by the 8th episode to hinder/halt the arrival of the alien invasion (note, they are about 400 years from the arrival point). 

I have to admit on story value....it's a '10', and does make you ask.....could people accept some alien arrival presently.  

So if you are hooked-up to Netflix....it might be worth watching.

Ineptocracy

 I saw the word today, and had to go to remind myself the meaning.

So you've voted in various officials at the city, county, state and federal level....discovering weeks, months and years later....they were not capable of running the office they held.  

You know....the feeling you have over your county commission, your local prosecutor, your local judges, the state governor, House and Senate members, and the President/VP.  

I paused over this for a while.....pondering.

I don't remember this being a big issue in the 1980s/1990s.  Somewhere after 2000....about once a month (at least starting out)....I would notice some evidence of incompetency.  Gradually....it became once a week, and today....I'd say five to ten times a day....I see ineptocracy going on.  I actually see it globally now....viewing events in China, Russia, the UK, Canada, etc.

My question....did we always have this element of Ineptocracy going on,  and it's just easier to recognize it today?  Or has something triggered the inept people to 'rise-up' and be the chief choices when elections occur?

Eight Things I Believe About The Migration Crisis In The US

 1.  For every hundred that entered....maybe 20 will find some minimum wage job....of which one-third (say 7)....will be taking a job that was preformed already by some low-IQ white/black/Hispanic already in the system.

2.  If NY City says they are already in a crisis stage presently (March 2024)....wait until 2025 (a year from now) and another 200,000 have arrived in town. 

3.  Chicago blacks will decide by November....I'm saying two out of three....will decide to vote down the Democratic ticket....shocking the state party apparatus in a massive way.

4.  Murder rate in NY City will likely double by the end of 2025....leading back to migration problems.

5.  'White-flight' will be a major cause of population shift in cities like SF, NYC, Denver, Seattle and Chicago.  

6.  Mexico will be put under extreme pressure to accept migrants 'back' but it'll be demonstrated that nine out of ten....are non-Mexican citizens.

7.  At least half the hotels in NY City by 2026.....will have nothing to do with tourism, and be existing mostly for migrants.

8. For 2025, I expect half-a-million Africans to find some way of getting to the border region, and cross.  Same situation for Chinese.

Slender BS

 I came upon a new term today....trans-slender.

Definition?  Well....if you were a person who is fairly picky about what you eat (like me), there this avoidance of food (particular types) going on.  Some folks are suggesting (in small numbers of course)....that you might be identifying yourself as trans-slender.

I pondered over this foolishness.

I haven't been slender since 1974.  

My German wife will say I have a problem....in that I like 'bad' foods (you know....meat, high-calorie, and fatty foods).  

Generally, when you start a statement with 'trans'....you are indicating that you are a Al Gore 'creature' (Man-bear-pig....being 50-percent man, 50-percent bear, and 50-percent pig....which means you are an invented fake 'thing'). 

I know....trans-people will say they own 'trans', but you could go and wrap some weird thinking into 'trans-whatever'.  

A Story

 On the evening of 30 October 1938.....came on the air via radio around 8 PM, War of the Worlds.  Most folks started from minute 1....knowing it was a fictional story.  Some folks got to the storyline around 5 to 8 minutes late.  

Over the next hour....tens of thousands of Americans truly believed that the US had been invaded by aliens. It was an odd phenonium.  

For weeks after this....people talked about the experience.  Limited to just the US?  No....in Europe and the USSR....folks talked about the naïve nature of Americans and how it really didn't take much to get people into a frightened frenzy.

Stalin, of the USSR, fascinated by this?  Yes.

In the summer of 1947....a UFO incident unfolded in Roswell, NM.  The US Air Force recovered 'something'....there's not much to argue.

There are bits and pieces to suggest that the Soviets had decided by the end of WW II to create a 'War of the Worlds' event in the US, and that two faked-up UFOs were to be designed, built and smuggled somehow into NM.  Aliens themselves?  The same story suggests that the Soviets had found a number of short people....performed surgery to alter them, and the bulk of them would be found dead (1 live one would be part of the unfolding event).

The US reaction?  Retrieval of ship #1, and months later....they would be called to site two (Aztec area).

For a fairly long period (weeks and months)....as this was unfolding....they would eventually figure out that the whole thing was bogus, and the alien they held....seemed to be a normal 'human'.

Would you want to admit how stupid you were to fall for the Soviet act?  No.

But as you come upon the early 1950s....three additional avenues open up.

First, there was the developmental range north of Vegas....Area 51, which had to be established and cover stories established.  So misinformation was created in various layers....to suggest that alien technology or ships were being kept there.

Since there was the already the belief of Roswell and Aztec....this wasn't a wild idea to convey.

Second, out of the Nazi era.....there was a lot of development into mind control and hypnosis.  The Air Force had this guy develop a new medical technology......Jolly West....where you could get people to believe something with a fake layer of facts inserted into the mind. 

This 'science' began to be used in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.   You could actually take a guy and convince him of an alien abduction or visitation.....when nothing happened.  

Third, throughout the 1950s and 1960s....a heck of a lot occurred in the physics area of science....where developers were taking military-related projects to extreme levels of reality.  

So the idea that aliens and UFOs might exist....being totally faked up with thousands of acts?  Well....ask yourself this....if you were 10,000 years more advanced and had traveled to Earth....crashing somewhere...dozens of times....wouldn't your highly developed travel business be suspect?  

I'm not saying the alien/UFO business is 100-percent faked-up.  I'm just saying that after the War of the Worlds episode in 1938....we seem to be on a treadmill, and believing things, without much proof.

Unwritten Laws

There are various unwritten laws that exist today.....which folks tend to gravitate over to....mostly because of logic and common sense.  So this is a list of twenty of these laws:

1.  Murphy's Law: Generally,  if something can go wrong....the odds are in the favor of that occurring.

2.  Sod's Law: Generally, as things are going wrong....it's best to just accept this as some accident or fate.

3.  The Ballpark Law: Generally, if you build it, they will come.  No one says who 'they' are, but just that they heard about you building something and need to check it out.

4.  The Indian Law: Generally, you can't ride a dead horse.

5.  The Whiskey Law: Generally, what whiskey cannot cure....there is no cure.

6.  The Septic Tank Law:  Generally, once you pull out the shovels, you need to start planning on a 12-hour day and hope that the ground temperature is 32-degrees or more.

7.  The Baptist Chat Law: Generally, never engage in conversation with a Baptist enthusiast over wet-dry issues, Revelations interpretations, or houses of ill-repute (they usually want to know the location).

8.  The Handling of Delusional People Law: Generally, just about everything they say....didn't happen.  The landing of the UFO in their cornfield, the phone call from President Trump, and the girlfriend from Selma.....none of those events likely occurred.

9.  The Wal-Mart Law:  Generally, if they don't sell it.....you don't need it.

10.  The Food Poisoning Law:  Generally, a $6 bad case of food poisoning can occur with the same power and intensity.....as a $25 bad case of food poisoning.

11.  The Birmingham, Alabama Law:  Generally, there are cities and villages in Afghanistan which are safer after 10 PM at night to walk around, than within the city limits of Birmingham.

12.  The True Grit Law:  Generally, if you've fallen into a pit of snakes....things aren't likely to go well.

13.  The Diarrhea Law: Generally, if you consume a fair bit of booze nightly, eat high-content fatty food and excessive fruits, mix a hefty amount of dairy products into your diet, drink four or more cups of coffee each morning, enjoy eight slices of bacon each breakfast, and toss down two or three boiled eggs each morning....then you ought to expect extreme diarrhea by 9 AM.

14.  The Hurricane Law:  Generally, even if the President and Governor both encourage evacuation of areas on the beachfront due to an oncoming hurricane....there's pretty good odds that 3,000 Alabama folks would like to drive down and observe the hurricane first-hand (on the beach) because they've never seen such a thing before.

15.  The Thanksgiving Law:  Generally, no one ever loses weight from late November to early January.

16.  The Mennonite Law:  Generally, things stopped advancing around 1890.  If they'd just accepted 1918....they'd still be driving Ford Model T's today instead.

17.  The NCAA-Alabama Law:  Generally, the University of Alabama must fit into the final bowl selection process, unless some freak of nature has occurred.

18.  The Governor Bentley Law: Generally, if you hire up someone to be your closest advisor and some inappropriate lusty stuff goes on.....it's best that you don't get bugged or recorded talking about your 'feelings'.

19.  The Fork-in-the-Road Law:  Generally, if you've reach a folk in the road, with no map, no directions, no signs....it's best to ask the first guy riding a horse or mule down the road about where this path will take you.  It should not matter if he's a Republican or Democrat....a tobacco chewer....or wearing flip-flops.

20.  The Sandbag Law: Generally, if you've filled a hundred sandbags....you tend to reach a pondering stage asking yourself if maybe this just isn't the right place to live or camp upon.  By that point, it's really too late.

The Three Topics That Joe Biden Can't Run On

 It is a wild time in 2024.  

As much as the Biden 'emphasis' is pushed.....there are three problem topics: the economy, uncontrolled migration, and the Ukraine-Russia war.   

There are forty-plus actions that Joe Biden could have gone to in the first 100 days....guarantying his 'win' in 2024.  He simply avoided them. You can wonder about this, or how he missed the necessary actions.

Dumping Joe at this point?  How?  The filler-guy/gal would have to address the three problem areas, and I don't see how you can rebuild a Democratic Party message to cure this 'ill'.

Joe trying to say that he's the anti-Trump candidate?  Then what?  

If I were a rock-solid Democrat?  I'd casually look over at the RFK Jr, and admit that this guy has the right brands/messages/positions.  I might not be happy over his economics position, but he's got most of the right ideas.

But here's the two things I wonder about: (1) what happens to Hunter Biden next?  Will his cash-cow just up and collapse?  (2) Will the rest of the Biden family go into a spiral now that Joe has no connection back to China....when he exits next year?

Me Before Elon Came Along

 I was on Twitter for about 18 months before Elon Musk came along to buy them.  And I had been suspended on two occasions.

1st offense?  I offered commentary where I uttered the term 'redneck', and about 45 minutes after the 'entry'....I was told that I needed a suspension of a week....as long as I deleted my comment. 

Did I know that 'redneck' was forbidden?  No.

2nd offense?  I made some comment that some person would have to be an 'idiot' to do such-and-such.  About ten minutes after typing that comment....I was told I needed a suspension of a week....as long as I deleted the comment.  

After the 2nd episode....I quit Twitter.

I came back after Elon bought Twitter.

It bothered me....these word-hounds needing to control your language...where 'fu*k' was ok to type and utter....but you couldn't call someone an 'idiot' or a 'redneck'.

My Vote Idea

 As of last night (Tuesday), the California primary has YET to end.  They still have around 166,000 ballots to count.....two weeks after the election ended.

Yes, it was actually quicker to count in the 1960s....than it is today.

So I have this idea.

I suggest that there should be a way that you walk in and put your ballot down (on voting day), and put down a $40 fee.  They then guarantee your vote being counted within 12 hours after the closure.  

If they fail to count the ballot.....you get your $40 fee returned, and 12 hours after that...for each day they fail to wrap up your ballot.....you get another $10.  After ten days, the 12-hour fee goes up to $25.

The state still screwing up?  I would imagine to earn your $40 fee up close....they'd work their butt off to ensure they made profit. 

You Do The Math

 300,000 refugees were flown into the US...into 43 cities (left unnamed at this point) by Homeland Security.  

That means each city got 6,976 'new' resident, and potentially in four years....would be citizens and voting.  7,000 potential votes....out of thin air.

The Haitian crowd (with or without cannibals)?  I could potentially see in Florida....around 100,000 new residents, and in four years....they would be 100k potential votes.

Just a crazy time to view reality.

Skepticism

I saw this commentary the other day and it stuck with me: 

"I used to believe what I saw on the evening news.

I used to get fighting mad when people said 9/11 was an inside job.

I used to think Bush was a good president.

I used to think our elections mattered.

I used to believe what "science" said.

I used to think we actually went to the moon in that stupid aluminum foil bucket.

I used to think people that were anti-vax were just crazy.

I used to think chemtrails were just a stupid conspiracy theory.

I used to think our dollar had value.

I used to think Israel was our "biggest ally."

I used to think the wars we fought were righteous, instead of being fought over lies so the military industrial complex can prosper while our best men died.

The point is, I used to think a lot of things that I don't think anymore....it's OK to admit it when you're wrong."

-- Mindy Robinson

Yeah, it's stuck with me....I'm more of skeptic today than at any point in my life. 

TikTok Chatter

 I sat looking over all this DC hype about forcing China to sell the US their US piece to TikTok.

After a while, it hit me....whoever buys (even Elon or some goofy billionaire) will face another problem within six months.

What about CCP-owned Lemon8, CapCut, Temu, and Shein?  Will they have to be bought as well?

And who is pricing any of this?  If the CCP says TikTok (US) is worth 44-billion....will some idiot left-wing American idiot pay that?  What about Temu or CapCut?  44-billion combined?  

It's all a bit crazy if you ask me.

The Thing About Don Lemon

 I'm just not a fan of CNN (or former ex-company CNN) journalist Don Lemon.

On interview skills?  I can think of forty journalists (even Katie Couric) who are better at Q-and-A.

On debate skills?  One-to-ten....he's marginally a '2'.

Why CNN sticks to him?  I think he's moderately priced on salary.  

I get the impression that even among blacks....he's just not ranked up there.

Intellectual?  No.

Starting his own podcast gimmick?  No.....he's not like Tucker Carlson or the normal folks you'd see.

But here's the thing...Don has no plan 'B' or exit strategy.  He has no real back-up job to CNN.  No one else cares that much to hire Don (not even ABC).  

Reality

 If you own a $250,000 home.....you probably discovered here in 2024....your homeowners policy went up 23-percent (Bankrate quote).

If you live in Florida, along the coast....you probably noticed your 2024 rate went up by 50-percent or more.

So, I'm going to make the following prediction.

By 2027, realizing President Biden wins...at least 200,000 people a year will be forced to hand the keys to their house over to the mortgage company because they can't afford homeowner's insurance.

By 2028, a national emergency will be underway as banks and mortgage companies are holding more than 300,000 homes and 800,000 condo apartments.  No one can afford the purchase price (because of the prime-rate) or the insurance cost.  

The government at this point is talking about passing special tax-free status for home-insurance companies....where they pay zero taxes.

2024 and 1929?

 This came up in a discussion I viewed (another podcast)....talking over differences economically today, and 1929.

1929....you drunk water from the tap...either  coming from the city or your pump on the property.  Today?  You buy around $100 of bottled water for the family per month.

Today, you eat out with the family around ten times a month.  Back in 1929....you at mostly at home.

1929, you probably owned a car but had zero insurance.  Today?  You pay around $300 minimum insurance on the car.

1929, you had no cable TV.  Today?  You pay $150 for cable.

Today, you have a couple of I-Phones for you and the kids, for $300 a month.  1929, phone service was just starting to get into the system in rural areas.

1929....a movie ticket was 35-cents.  2024?  Anywhere from $9 to $20.

1929....a cup of coffee ran around 5-cents.  2024?  You'd pay near $4 for the mega-cup at some name-brand coffee shop.

For 1929, it wasn't that big of a fall for the recession.  For 2024?  It's a massive fall if the same type of recession were to occur.

I Had An Idea On ID/Voting

 If it makes perfect sense to have voting without an ID....why can't we have announcements to run for Governor, Senator, and President....without showing an ID?

You know...just show up to the county office without an ID, and get my name onto the county commissioner ballot?  

Now, I admit....I might not use my real name....maybe something like 'Hocus Pocus', and you accept my $200 registration fee....without demanding any legit ID.

Seven Observations

 1.  Maybe just my gut feeling....but it seems like one-third of all customer service people...are literally 7th-grade mentality.  

2.  If your state has deemed kids to have mentality and intellect to make their decisions by age 13....open a suitcase for them, and carry them to the county social office....leaving them there for 'handling'.  The kid will eventually figure out things.

3.  All this cannibal-gangs chatter in Haiti....just where did this come up before?  If the White House agrees to bring Haitians up to the US and dump them into communities?  I just don't see how the public would be agreeable....knowing one or two out of every fifty were cannibals' in nature.

Also, this would trigger Americans to ask....what's worse....ISIS thugs or cannibals?

4.   Maybe it's a crazy thought, but if Trump walks into the White House in 2025...something in my head suggests that US Army or National Guard presence will be a regular thing, with 10,000 permanently based around the city....to protect against insurrection, or fake-insurrection.

Just seems like the Democrats have opened up a wild crazy period.

5.  Of the 25-odd million migrants who arrived before this current 'herd'....did they get free hotel rooms and $10,000 debit cards?  No.  I'm guessing they are peeved to the 9th degree.

6.  Just odd how Covid ended....folks under 70....about a 99-percent survival record.  Almost fits a flu-epidemic.

7.  Before the late 1920s....in the farming area I grew up in (Alabama)....they had no electricity.  If you try talking about this period of time.....no one much wants to hear about it.  

Smuggling Story

 I sat and watched a brief piece from yesterday....FBI 'boss' saying ISIS has a new income gimmick.....helping to smuggle people into Mexico...to cross the US border.

Pay per person?  Unknown.  

Numbers?  Mostly unknown.

How did the FBI figure this out?  Oddly, that part of the story wasn't readily told.  I thought over how the FBI works.  One might imagine FBI duo with nothing much going on, and walking into a refugee center to ask stupid questions. Ten minutes later....'holy smokes' is probably the response, and they file a report.

'Smuggling-R-Us'?  Well....yeah.  They figured out some unused freighters exist, and rig up hauling couple hundred....probably charging $5k a trip.   Couple million in profit....dock for half-a-day, and return for second run.

How they would stop this?  Unknown.  Even if Mexico enforced some control on docking....you could slide into Honduras and dock there to unload the crowd.

Census-Chatter

 In recent days...over the Census chatter, and the idea that illegal immigrants will be counted in the 2030 Census....giving blue states an edge.....I gave this some today to think over.

So if I were a illegal migrant guy....I'd go up to the Democrats and these twenty-odd states, and I'd lay down three key requirements.

First, you need to give me a fake-job...paying $60,000 a year.

Second, you need to rig up some fake-ass mortgage-deal....giving me $20,000 in free cash for a down-payment.

Third, you need to arrange a car loan with zero-percent interest.

Failure for the state?  Me and the 350,000 other folks will suddenly shift in 2029 to a red-state, and give them the bodies to count.

Imagine a state like Alabama....going out and talking 1-million migrants into settling in the state, and getting 2 new Representative seats.

All of this triggering some worries?  Oh yeah.....you'd have to pay the migrants something to keep them in NY City.....for five-plus years.  Do they really have cash for that?

Library Chatter

 For those who didn't know...in Alabama....there's a battle brewing over state libraries....with ban-some-books being discussed.

There's a draft state bill....that would move control of libraries....from library 'folks'....over to local politicians.  Just the way it's worded....it sounds like a school board situation....but just for library actions.

I have a different prospective over this.

If you'd asked around 1977 (when I left the farm)....fewer than 20-percent of folks in the county knew precisely where the county library was located.   A year or two later...some funding came up and a regional library started up (outside of the county 'seat').  

If you asked about the regional library, I'd imagine today that 80-percent of local folks know where it exists, but fewer than a quarter of them have ever used it. As for the country seat library...fewer than 10-percent regularly use it.

As for this control chatter?  There's some opinion that maybe the pro-library people might be pro-p0rn in some odd way, whether true or not.  This being some situation where they have a bundle of Playboy/Penthouse magazines around?  Well....no.  This is more of the case where some books would have fantasy stories relating to Doctor Bud having relations (physical) with Doctor Marvin, and possibly involving Nurse Wendy in some capacity.  Yeah, like those cheap $4 sex novels you'd see.

So the general idea is that protective folks want the library to stay 'pure'....with good wholesome Jack London, Charles Dickens, or Edgar Allen Poe stuff.  The library 'bosses' seem to believe that they know better, and sex stuff is desperately wanted by these poor rural folks.   

I used to go over to the Air Force library system a good bit, and there's be a card in each book....to  indicate the last sixty-odd times it'd been checked out.  Somewhere around the summer of 1983, I'd gone and checked out a Edgar Allen Poe book....it'd been checked out three times since acquired in 1972.  I'm not saying there's a lack of business....just that the bulk of whatever the library has in inventory....is probably only read a dozen times over a twenty-year period.  Maybe with p0rn....there's more business or check-outs?  

It's just funny how this came up suddenly to be a hot topic, and fierce librarian folks fighting for lusty written material.

My Gut Feeling Over Biden's 'Pier' At The Gaza Strip?

 Thousand guys assigned to assemble this....probably takes less than 20 days to accomplish.

I'd go ahead and pre-order at least 100 'Purple-Heart' medals for anticipated attacks.

As for people needing to stand there and keep it operational?  You can anticipate them being attacked sooner or later, and the structure itself being destroyed or damaged somewhere in the next 365 days.

As for who pays for the cargo to come ashore?  Well...the EU and the US are probably going to pay something in the range of $40-million a week to keep this Cyprus-to-Gaza route open and operating.  

Just asking for trouble?  Yeah, but someone behind Biden (on the staff) sees this as a plus-up regionally...even if it comes under attack.  

My Thinking Over TikTok

 For a brief time in 2020 (Covid era), I got onto the App, and probably wasted about forty hours viewing 'crap'.

Majority of stuff I saw was low-class personal production of stuff made by high-school kids and university students....occasionally adults trying to be funny with marginal effect.

Probably one out of forty videos I viewed were somewhat dangerous.

Back on the farm (mid-1970s)....in the community, we had two brothers (the Barr boys) who were notorious for doing crazy stuff.  They had a old pick-up which they would start at one end of the field....then with it still progressing at 10 mph....they'd climb out of the cab to reach the tail-gate and then jump back in before the truck reached the end of the field (10-ft deep ditch existed there).  They did it strictly for the thrill.  Had they existed today?  I think they would have recorded this at least a hundred times, and invented crazier stunts.

Some folks have posted videos from TikTok onto Twitter....where Gen-Z folks (college kids and up to age 25)....where they are crying and awful disturbed about the unfair life they've been dealt.....how their salary of $45,000 isn't covering their cost of living, or how their 50-year old boss seems demented/crazy.  It disturbs me watching these....mostly because the participants don't seem ready for the big world and harsh reality.

I see TikTok as having marginal value.  But to ban it?  Kids would just use VPN services to get around the ban.

It's just funny....in a way....we are evolving in the opposite direction.  Being stupid....is enticing.  

About Politics

 Just a little history over the Republican Party....originally created in 1824.  They wer nicknamed in this era....'Adams-Clay Republicans', 'Adams's Men', and 'Anti-Jacksonians'. 

Leadership originally?  John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay.

How long they lasted?  Well....ten years (they dissolved in 1834).

I should note here that the leading national conservative party was the Whig Party. Both Adams and Clay felt they were 'losers'.

We go through a period in the 1830s where the Whig Party has problems, and are trying to get a wild group up.....themselves, the National Republican Party folks, disenchanted Democrats, and a group bound and determined to anti-Masonic folks (one-issue party and feeling Masons were cult-like).

This lead to a 20-year period of marginal success in elections.

Then in the mid-1850s....along came a revolution in politics....where disenchanted members went off to create what was called the 'American Party'.

I should note in this short era....they also came to be called the 'Know Nothing movement' and "Native American Party." 

1860 election....they finally evolved into the Republican Party.

Yeah, to some degree....there were periods where they were fake Republicans, fake Whigs, fake Know Nothings, and fake anti-Masonic folks.  There is always such a trend going on.  

Movie Review

 This past weekend....I attempted to watch Netflix's Spaceman.  Chief actor?  Adam Sandler 

Basic story?  Astronaut Jakub (Czech guy) is sent off on a space mission by himself....in a crappy ship.  This guy originally applied to NASA and was turned down twice.  He's now working for some private company.  Six-month mission.....with Jakub's wife about to dump him.

So...somehow....Jakub finds this creature in his vessel, which he deems friendly, and names Hanus.  Hanus appears to be intelligent....and mostly resembles a six-foot spider.  Hanus talks a lot....trying to understand why Jakub has screwed up.

Movie is mostly about some relationship between the Czech guy....in a crappy ship....with Hanus.

On my index (1-to-10)....movies worth watching?  I give it a '2'.  Maybe as a book....it works.  Trying to find any humor in it (this being Sandler)?  NO.  

I have to admit it....with Netflix....it's hit-and-miss 50-percent of the time.  

What If Biden, Trump and RFK Jr Were Dumped?

 If you went up to most Americans and said....you'd don't need a Jesus-like character for President....you just need a downsizing of the federal government (massive budget cut) and some executive-like guy to fill the role for eight years.

Who?

Well....I'd dump all 100 Senators.  

I'd dump the 50 governors.

You can't have Elon (he's got better things to do).

You can't have any technology geek, because they lack common sense.

Vivek?  Well....yeah, that's about the only guy capable of filling the role.

Just Thinking

 I sat and watched a ten-minute interview with Yuval Noah Harari....one of those PhD types who spends time thinking about what we teach kids today and whether it has any value in the future. 

So he got onto this one topic.....today (2024)....we have NO idea what to teach young people that will still be relevant in twenty years.  

The art of typing?  Yeah, I would imagine voice recognition will be replacing typing by 2035.

Most math skills?  Replaced by AI within twenty years.

Driving a car skill?  I'd easily say by 2040....more than half the nation will not have a need to drive themselves.

The art of brewing beer?  I would imagine by 2050....in America...fewer than 500 folks will have the skill to do it.

Bartending?  Why?  AI will arrive via a machine....ready to make 1,000 mixed drinks.  Just some kid name 'Woody' to reload the cannisters in the basement will be needed.

Car repair?  Some AI system named 'Barney' will be set up in a garage, with two half-wit guys to drive the cars into place and hook up the system.

Piggly-Wiggly clerk ladies?  All replaced by 2050.....AI.

My question....more than half the US population probably won't need to get educated beyond the 7th grade.  Their jobs?  Curious question and no answer.

Three Thoughts

 1.  Some folks went out and did the audience numbers for the State of the Union address.

Folks, 18 to 34?  5-percent watched the address.

Folks, 35 to 54?  19-percent watched the address.

Folks, 55 and over? 75-percent watched the address.

Only 8-million Americans down from age 54....watched it.  

2.  Tomorrow night (Monday) is Oscar night.

The last time I watched a Oscar show?  1983.  

I sat and thought about it.  Back in my early Air Force years, with a 50-cent ticket....I'd probably go six to ten times a month to a movie.  Since 2000?  I probably go one to two times a year to some movie.

To be honest, I would probably rate most movies produced these days as 'crap', and feel stupid having paid $10 for a ticket and another $8 for a popcorn/soda.

The last time at a theater and feeling 'value' for a great movie?  2011....with the movie 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'.  

My point on this topic....it's just a lot of crappy movie being made today, which aren't worth wasting 2 hours in viewing.

3.  L A county has said officially (Sat evening)....that the primary counting business is NOT over for them....they still have around 305,000 ballots to count. 

Most estimate they won't officially conclude things until Tuesday evening (at best).  

Just makes no sense.  

The Thing About Britt's Kitchen

 I had a chance this week to observe the kitchen of Senator Britt (at the family home in Montgomery)....via a couple of photos taken of the house in 2018 when it was placed on the market.

The highlight?  "48" subzero matching cabinet face refrigerator, custom corian countertops with seamless flow into sink, and a color of taupe for the room".

It was what they used for her GOP speech after President Biden's SotU talk.

I'd take a guess....whoever owned it prior to Britt.....probably spent in the neighborhood of $50,000 just for the kitchen alone.

So my personal Bama comment?  Well....to be honest, I've seen a few Bama residences in my life (66 years old).  

I think if you asked around....fewer than .01-percent of folks in the state have something like this kitchen.

My brother, the engineer, probably would say that he'd view the kitchen as unusable....because it looks like TV studio or store model kitchen (not meant for real cooking/baking).  

I'm not saying it was a bad thing....but the longer I looked at the background....I just kept thinking....what idiot would go out and spend $50,000 just on a kitchen?  You could have gone to Biloxi's casino 'front' on 25 weekends.  You could have bought a fine fishing cruiser-boat and a new motorcycle for that.  You could have spent two months at some Aruba hotel on a 4-star 'binge'.  

Added Nutritional Element

 Early Feb, I went and added an odd 'fruit' to my diet....freeze-dried barberries.  Shot-glass at breakfast and dinner.

So after five weeks, I can say a couple of things:

- My digestive system slowed down in a major way.  After breakfast, I still feel full eight hours later. Snacking has dissolved away.  

- My bowel movement schedule?  Well...oddly, it went from 24-to-30 hours....to around 72 hours.  I'm not constipated...just processing at a slower rate. 

- Sugar 'lows'?  Now, near zero.

- Weight loss after 5 weeks?  I figure around half-a-point a week, without really increasing exercise....just mostly cutting snacks out.  Mostly by still feeling 'full'.

I'm not saying barberries are some miracle element....just that it does affect the digestive system to run in a different manner.   

Bitter taste?  Yeah, that is the one odd factor when eating the berries. 

Wrestling Chatter

 I hold a strong fascination with fake wrestling.  

One of my favorite routines?  A win-or-lose script where the big 'draws' agree....whoever loses the match....has to leave the state (meaning they can only return if they put on a mask and pretend to be someone else).

It ought to be that way in politics....some big faked-up match, and you can only return if you put on a mask to be pretend to be someone else.

Smell Story

 I saw this image today, and it's been on my mind.

First, what do they mean by 'strong odor'?  

Second, personally, I can think of forty-odd after-shave smells/scents....that I can't stand (you know....old-lady type perfumes, or that stupid Old Spice smell).

Then I'm wondering....who is the judge of this?

I used to work with a contractor associate who had gas problems....especially in the 20 foot by 20 foot office that we worked in.  I'd actually have to get up and leave for 10 minutes when his 'attack' occurred.  Would a guy like that....be allowed to stay as a 'guest'?

Finally, I'm wondering with generally homeless folks....who only bathe once a month.....if they might be included in this seating arrangement. 

My 'Irish Spring' Essay

 When I went off to basic training (August 1977)....I ended up buying a bar of Irish Spring at the BX, and got 'stuck' on the scent.  For about 35 years, I was addicted to the I-S 'smell'. 

One day, after retirement.....my wife (German in nature) had some stock-holder meeting that we could attend.  That means food, Champaign, and 4 hours in a overly-heated arena.

I started to sweat a fair amount and the aroma of Irish Spring got into the air.  Yeah, I may have overly used the Irish Spring that morning.

Around the third hour....she attempted to move us back two rows....thinking the smell came from the couple in front of us.  About 10 minutes later....she started to sniff on me....now realizing this smell was the after-affects of Irish Spring mixed with sweat from the hot arena.

To put it mildly, I was lectured on the whole return trip home....how I would have stop using Irish Spring.  

It's been a tough six years since then....with only one or two sneak-purchases on my part to get Irish Spring.  What I've learned...to simply buy the liquid stuff, and refill some other non-Irish Spring container with the real Irish Spring.  

So far....it's worked.  But I'm having to be careful not to sit in hot places and sweat openly.   

'Gifted Downnfall' Essay

 After I retired from the Air Force, I did contractor work.  I worked in an office with one logistics lady.  She was married to an Air Force NCO, and had two daughters.

Prior to Ramstein, she'd been in Guam.  As the older daughter entered the 5th grade, the mother went 'turbo' and pushed to an extreme on education.  She spent at least ten hours a week with the kid on advanced stuff.  

At the end of the 5th grade, the school staff did some testing and finally came to the conclusion....the kid was way too smart for the 6th grade....so they advanced her to the 7th grade.  The kid was a A-plus student for the next couple of years.

At the end of the 8th grade...dad got a new assignment....going to Ramstein.  The kid arrived and did great in the 9th and 10th grade.  The school went and put on some special program.  11th grade?  That was a breeze.

So there scholarship interest going on.  The kid has every single block filled-in.  

Georgetown University has a 1-year scholarship deal offered up in the 12th grade. 

But there is an interesting change of pace in the 12th grade.  Early on....the kid takes to partying, and quietly boozing up.  It would appear that the teachers are on some agenda to ensure her grades don't slip.

The university scholarship is finalized.  Mom takes the kid off to Georgetown and gets her plugged into a dorm room.  Life for about a week....is about to peak.

The kid takes to partying and boozing.  At Christmas break....the kid has two failed classes....two marginal-passing classes, and only class with decent grades.  There's a warning note from the college....if something doesn't happen....the scholarship deal ends in June.

Well...2nd semester goes with four marginal-passing classes and one decent grade class.  Scholarship ends.

Mom goes and picks up the kid.  They return to dad's new base area.....where the family has a nice middle-class home with a fairly large basement 'bedroom'.  The kid designates that as her room.

I got an email about 90 days after this 'return' from my former co-worker.  The kid had adjusted to the failure, and simply was 'camping-out' in her room after breakfast....watching TV all day, and barely being seen.  

About 9 months passed after that email.  The next one came.  The daughter was mentioned.....they had convinced her to get therapy, and the therapist had convinced her to get a part-time job....at some coffee shop.  

Six months would pass, and I'd get one final update email....the daughter had agreed to take one class per semester at the local community college.  She still spent the bulk of each day hidden.  

It's been around 18 years since that email.  About once a year, this will pop up in my mind.  I would imagine now.....the daughter being mid-30s.  She's probably still living in dad's house, and working at the coffee-shop.  

The younger sister (by 4 years)?  The 'ungifted' kid (a comment that mom will utter in the office on occasion)?  I would imagine she went on to a normal college and graduated around 2013.  

Life is not a paved road, or designed to be easy.  Sometimes....you just need to focus and keep yourself in some form of moderation. 

'Fair Share' Chatter?

At least ten times a month, I hear the impression of 'fair share' uttered.  Prior to the 1990s....I just don't remember it.  I don't remember it on the farm....I don't remember it in boot-camp....I don't remember it while running a 1.5-mile track in 95-degree heat.

Somewhere in the 1990....it started to come up.  

In the 2008-to-2016 era?  I probably heard it on CNN or NPR at least twelve times a week.

Here's the thing....it's not definable.  You can't show where it really works in life.

Presently, I'm of the mind that we need reverse-fair-share....meaning you need to cut your budget, before I accept some fair share 'BS'.

Fair share chatter not working on me anymore?  Yeah, it's come down to the point where the expression is some quote you'd hear from a 8-year old kid. 

Trump Wins Scenario: What Happens To Mexico?

 Four observations:

1.  Full-up military operations by US...crossing the border and hitting cartel strongholds....every single week.   

2.  Massive chaos starting in Mexico, with the President likely leaving/disappearing.

3.  Mexico government in 2025.....unstable and under collapse.

4.  At least 2-million Mexicans attempting to cross  the border because of the gov't collapse.

Is The US Now A Third-World Country?

 First, let me say....I've been around the globe, and stepped through some 2nd world countries, and briefly stopped at a 3rd-world country or two (Honduras, Bosnia and Herzegovina).  

So I have a decent idea of 1st, 2nd and 3rd world status.

Back in 2000, if you'd suggested the US was walking toward 3rd-world status....I would have laughed.

In 2010, on the suggestion....I might have agreed that several parts of the US....were 2nd world status and were becoming no-go cities (like Memphis or some parts of Atlanta, or a quarter of Chicago).

2024?  Yeah, I can probably get into a car...spend a year traveling around the US,  and find thousands of examples where it seems third-worldish in nature.

I noticed this AM....Florida is drafting up a law to say you can't camp-out on public property (streets, parks, etc). They've reached a point where they are fed up on the third-world image.

Another thing I noticed this AM....NY governor talking about a draft law...if you've been convicted of a assault (felony)....you'd be forbidden from using the city subway system.  How this would work?  Unknown.  But obviously, enough voters are now in some state of fear....that leadership has to react.

The key ways you know you are in a 3rd-world country? Well....you have a  economic system collapsing....where people sleep in parks. You have people failing to pay on their car loans....with repossession occurring.   You have storefronts closing. 

You also have political instability....where a significant amount of the public no longer believes local, state, or federal governments function correctly.

You will also notice health services stretched out and not being able to perform at the advertised level.

High mortality rates?  Well....if you gaze around at drug-related deaths....these are escalating throughout the United States.

The perception that public safety no longer exists?  Add onto that....the lack of trust in the police or the public prosecution system, or the judges.

The feeling that you might be in some cult-like society?  I heard this mentioned the other day....how someone felt the crowd they hang around....were saying a lot of nonsense and BS.

The trouble is....if you did feel it was a third-world country....where would go and feel 'safe'?

A Non-Starter

 No.  It'd require seven strong guys to hold me down.

Just makes me wonder....what idiot dreamed up this and signed off.

The 320,000 Math Issue

 In the last couple of days, it came out that the Biden administration flew in 320,000 migrants over the past year....without telling anyone much.

Math?

I assume that they used medium-sized planes...figuring 200 passengers each....meaning that 1,600 flights took place.  Meaning 4.4 flights a day took place.  Course, if they left from some Mexican airport...into Houston, there might be 8 flights in one single day.

Who picked up the 320,000 at the airport?  Unknown.

Did they fly into Air Force bases?  Unknown.

Were asylum papers given?  Well....unknown.

Who was in charge?  Unknown.

Who paid for the flight? Unknown, but I'd take a guess....it's in the range of $200,000 per flight....leaving the US hub empty, and flying back for the 2nd pick-up.

This getting attention?  Yeah, and here's the thing....if you go and ask President Biden...he doesn't remember much of anything.

Why they didn't use a Greyhound bus service?  Another unknown.  

Airport management aware of this?  I doubt it.

Reaction?  I can list twenty states...that if they find out about this, and that they each have around 8,000 migrants roaming Nashville or Little Rock....they will all hire up buses and send the migrants to Chicago, NY City or Denver.  

A bigger mess?  Yeah, no doubt.

News Media Chatter

 It is one of those odd things....the news media has a problem in selling their 'product', and in an election year....it's a harsh reality.

The chart here ONLY covers 'visits' since January 2024.

I would imagine if you used 2020 numbers and compared to today....each is one-third down.  

So why?

Skepticism?  I think if you privately chatted with folks....more than half of the people you know....aren't readily buying into the 'brand' or message that the networks are putting out. 

If you asked over Joe Rogan, Twitter or the podcast folks?  Yeah....their message is trusted at a higher level.

So here's the 'problem'....each was paying a high sum of money for their crew to pump out a 'message'.  If that isn't working....wouldn't you dump your crew?  

My Advice To A 13-Year-Old Kid Today

 My ten humble bits of advice:

1. Make mistakes, then learn from them.

2.  If something sounds bogus or BS....it probably is bogus or BS.

3.  Don't under-estimate rational thinking.

4  Decision time?  Prioritize the solutions.

5.  There should be no limits on moderation.

6.  If you start out at minimum-wage work, and three years later....you still work there....something is wrong with your attitude.

7.  If you come to suddenly realize you are in the presence of low-IQ folks....don't get freaked-out.  Just ease yourself out.

8.  If you have this feeling of propaganda being 'fed' to you....it probably is propaganda.

9. Having a high level of skepticism.....is worth developing.

10. If you hang around with dumbasses....you probably will end up as a dumbass yourself.

Political Chatter

 I sat this afternoon and viewed a Pete Buttigieg quote: "We need to make sure people understand the good that is coming their way because of the president's leadership!"

Polling to confirm Pete's comment?  Well....the poll  guys say just 18-percent  of Americans share the President's success.

The other 82-percent?  From less-so....to serious aggravation.

It is this reason that I suspect by June/July....Joe Biden will ease out of the race and leave the doorway open for Michelle Obama.

Can Ms. Obama really pick up this mess and do much?  I suspect if you lined up thirty-odd positions that the White House has engaged upon....she will not move much beyond the assigned policy positions.  

In this fashion....Michelle Obama is screwed on rebuilding confidence in the nation.  If she agrees that everything Joe Biden did was successful....the bulk of society (even Democrats) will just sit there....laughing over the 'change' that she wants to engage upon.  

As for Butigieg?  VP-material?  Well....yeah....I could see him getting the call, and people mostly laughing over that.

Rage Chatter / BS

 Back in August of 1977...I left the farm....the rural aspects of Alabama.  It was one of those adventure things in life.  Throughout the decades....I lived in an odd 'zone'....on the fringe of suburban America, Panama, or Germany.

I never felt threatened in rural America, and up to 2010....I didn't really feel threatened in urban America.  My 3.5 years in Arlington changed that perception. Since coming back to Germany?  I have a no-go list of places in my mind, and I don't feel 100-percent safe....not in Germany, and certainly not in most urban areas of the US.

I sat yesterday and watched a MSNBC piece, where Paul Waldman and Tom Schaller (college professor types) did a talk on their new book...."White Rural Rage".  What I'll say from the talk they gave (I haven't read the book)....is that civilized America....living in the urban areas....just can't argue (win in a debate) with the 'less-than-smart' rural folks, and this is screwing up things in our little democracy.

This other book?  The Unprotected Cass: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart by Jeremy Carl. He goes at this urban-rural discussion in the opposite direction.  Rural America in his book....is under a threat, and they simply won't stand there patiently...waiting for something to happen.

This rage thing?  Most people walked around the nation....both in small towns, rural areas, and suburban areas....all the way through the 1980s,  and at some point in the 1990s.....tension started to rise up.  I can't really blame TV, media, some movie, or even some  political group.

Up to 2008....it was simply pacing along and not really a big deal.  In the 2008-to-2016 era?  It took off....I'd say that newspapers, news media, and social media carried the bulk of the message.  Rage was 'in'.

People go to work with rage today.  They sip coffee with rage.  They attend church with rage.  They manage their rage to some degree....always careful not to talk certain subjects.

The NFL, NBA, and pro-golf....affect rage.  Just listening to Nancy Pelosi might affect your rage level.   Your kid's school....might affect your rage.  Some pronoun-person might trigger your rage.  

The urban guy?  Oh, he's got rage.  His wife?  She's got rage.

The rural farmer?  He's got rage.  The Piggly Wiggly gal?  She's got rage.

The retired welder?  He's got rage.  The charming dental lady doing your teeth clean-up?  She's got rage.  

The date you got with the artsy 40-year old gal who camps out in a tent occasionally?  She's got rage.  The  co-worker who has watched all the Star Gate episodes and knows dialog of Daniel Jackson?  He's got rage.  The dumbass Fox News morning guy that you hate with a passion?  He's got rage.  

All of this brings me to my chief observation.  Whatever CIA guy who designed this trend and figured you could manage rage....guessed wrong.   All of this can only lead to a 1859 'point' where the bluff no longer works, and you have to find physical way to reset the rage.

The people who think the rural people can be dominated or swayed?  They probably guessed wrong. And here's the odd thing...these suburban folks?  Half of them actually 'closet-rural' folks (meaning they only pretend to be urbanized).  This aspect should worry some folks. 

When Your Degree Is Worthless?

 I read through a Bloomberg business report today....which laid out this odd trend.  Around 50-percent of recent college graduates (I sense they meant from spring 2022  to spring 2023....are working high school-level jobs.

Meaning?  They might be the 'boss' of a car rental shop at some airport (which was always a high-school situation). Or they might be the sales gal of some cellphone shop at the mall.

Why?  Well....after submitting their resume around.....most in this category fell into a 'pit'...where the $40,000 college-grad level had nothing going on.

A Biden, or Bidenomics thing?  On the positive side....they are employed and pulling in something.  On the negative side...they probably still live in dad's house, and dad is feeding them.....with maybe some coverage deal of car insurance going on.

Here's my problem....you might linger in this job for a full-year, and on your resume.....you are basically saying there's something odd about my work situation and I'm doing the work of a high-school guy/gal.

If you are still there at the rental-car shop (as chief) after two years?  Yeah, that labels you a classic 4-star college degree loser.  

Finally, just an odd observation....to be honest, I could hire 10-percent of the sixteen-year old high-school (yet-to-graduate) crowd, as a temp-boss of a car-rental shop....over you.  

Fixing Text

There's some schools talking about pulling To Kill a Mockingbird (the classic) because of racial discrimination text.  

The aim?  Well.....all that sensitive text and dialog.

I sat and pondered over this.

Maybe you just need to change the characters.

This Finch-guy for example....why couldn't he be Bombay-Indian-American?

The daughter?  'Scout'?  She could be half-transgirl, half-transboy,  half-wolf.

This 'Boo' guy who was always so mysterious?  Make him into an escaped lunatic clown-killer.

This Calpurnia-gal....the black-cook in the house?  Make her into a freaked-out Texas gal who seems to be cocaine an doped-up half the time.

This Bob Ewell guy?  The guy who was mostly drunk and never seemed to have a dollar....but accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter?  Make him into a fired CNN executive who has brain-fog from Covid.  

I'm sure that we can fix the text....to make folks happy.

Newcomers?

 I saw this BS yesterday and spent about ten minutes trying to imagine how they sat in some 'bubble' and invented the term 'newcomers' out of the Biden White House.

I suggested to my brother....we, being citizens....would logically be 'oldcomers' or 'old-timers', but that really doesn't fit.

I would imagine some news media folks sat there and conversed with Biden team and told them....'aliens' or 'illegals' conveys negatives. 'Newcomers'?  Well,  it conveys new people (not strangers).

So I pondered upon this.  In rural Alabama, 1970s....there was always some hyped-up positive feelings about new people moving in, or hearing about some family from Ohio....having arrived in the community.  In some ways....the Ohio folks were like French-people....from just so FAR off.

The fact that Biden's team being just awful unconnected to reality or the nation itself?  Well....after a while...you get this impression. In some ways, you get the impression they attended some college, and after four years....left with less intelligence than they had on day one.

The news guys accepting this BS and repeating it?  Yeah, he/she looks pretty stupid.

The one odd thing being different from 1970s Alabama?  Well...we'd usually visit the  newcomers...offering up a cake....maybe giving some advice on local churches, and give the typical warnings about tornados, snakes and NCAA football.  We didn't attempt to hand the newcomer a $10,000 VISA card, or hand them $25,000 in hotel or meal coverage.   

Whoever is running in November as the Democratic contender (it won't be Joe)....has a serious problem in explaining newcomer status to the public.