First, let me be honest and just admit up front, there are a hundred pronouns that tend to be accepted in the English language. Even 'whoever' and 'whom' fit within the pronoun listing of the hundred. To quickly assemble a thought for a stranger, you go to that hundred....assemble your sentence structure, and prepare to receive their comeback, which hopefully will make sense and resolve your problem or question.
But then you walk into a room with a gender-maxed group....say seven of them. Each different from the other. Basically, I don't know them, and in my case....dealing with strangers....I really don't want to get into some hour-long introduction phase where I need to know their personal issues and emotional woes.
In this case, I need to convey a comment and resolve a issue. I'm going to the standard hundred pronoun list. The minute you stop or hinder me on my problem or question....I'm discarding you as an effective answer-person. I'm going to the next person. And I'll repeat that if necessary.
For me, it's simple....I divide people into three categories. First, there's strangers and I really don't need to waste time on knowing strangers. Second, there's associates (typically people I work with, or people that I have to deal with once a day). For associates, it's nice to know their hobbies, their passions, and their general background. For emotional woes or sexual interests? No....associates aren't in that category. So finally, I come to friends....where some personal woes or great personal battles in life can be explained in detail.
It's safe to say I don't have a thousand friends, or for that matter....even a hundred friends.
For the pronoun crowd, I'm a problem because I really just want simple communication to occur. For their agenda to work, I need to be on a friend-to-friend level, and that's just not going to happen.
To be honest, looking around.....I kinda suspect that the vast majority of people operate with the system I've described. So selling another 300-odd pronouns is not going to be easy or simple. If I choose not to get into your personal business....it's my own personal choice. I don't need to waste 30 minutes learning your pronoun path to happiness...to reach the point of asking about information on buying a vacuum cleaner or a dishwasher.
I'm sorry if that seems harsh.
Saturday, 12 October 2019
Friday, 11 October 2019
Quitters Quit
I sat yesterday reading a business report. Someone laid out the statistical data.....roughly 50-percent of millennials (people born between 1995 and 2005) and three-quarters of Generation 'Z'ers' (those born in the 2000 era or later) have had to quit jobs because of mental issues.
Why? All that is really said is pressure and stress.
I sat and pondered upon it. If you were a kid who'd grown up in the 2005 to 2010 period.....you were used to having your way....getting soft work assignments in high school and college, and probably arrived to face your first boss, and stiff schedules/deadlines.
Toss on the fact that the boss didn't really take your BS excuses, or 'blame-game' suggestions.
So the boss resorted to criticism, mandated requirements, and written expectations. Then you retreated....quitting. The second job? The third job? They likely went the same way.
Where are these winners living now? In dad's house? Are we saying that four years of college and $50,000 was wasted on an education where you aren't capable of taking orders or managing simple program?
I was sitting there and wondering if even Burger King and McDonalds were facing a crisis....where they couldn't get enough kids to flip burgers? Can you imagine these kids quitting BK and going home because of stress issues at flipping burgers?
So are we talking about an entire generation of kids....who are basically quitters always on the verge of quitting?
Why? All that is really said is pressure and stress.
I sat and pondered upon it. If you were a kid who'd grown up in the 2005 to 2010 period.....you were used to having your way....getting soft work assignments in high school and college, and probably arrived to face your first boss, and stiff schedules/deadlines.
Toss on the fact that the boss didn't really take your BS excuses, or 'blame-game' suggestions.
So the boss resorted to criticism, mandated requirements, and written expectations. Then you retreated....quitting. The second job? The third job? They likely went the same way.
Where are these winners living now? In dad's house? Are we saying that four years of college and $50,000 was wasted on an education where you aren't capable of taking orders or managing simple program?
I was sitting there and wondering if even Burger King and McDonalds were facing a crisis....where they couldn't get enough kids to flip burgers? Can you imagine these kids quitting BK and going home because of stress issues at flipping burgers?
So are we talking about an entire generation of kids....who are basically quitters always on the verge of quitting?
Tuesday, 8 October 2019
Seats Flipping in the 2020 Senate?
It's 13 months out but I'm going to make the following four predictions:
1. Alabama's Democratic Senator will lose in this election.
2. Michigan's Democratic Senator (Peters) will likely lose.
3. New Hampshire's Democratic Senator (Shaheen) will likely lose.
4. Virginia's Democratic Democratic Senator (Warner) will require an awful weak Republican in order to win.
Republican losses? At this point, the points appear more in their favor to retain all seats. Odds here? At least three gains....maybe four.
1. Alabama's Democratic Senator will lose in this election.
2. Michigan's Democratic Senator (Peters) will likely lose.
3. New Hampshire's Democratic Senator (Shaheen) will likely lose.
4. Virginia's Democratic Democratic Senator (Warner) will require an awful weak Republican in order to win.
Republican losses? At this point, the points appear more in their favor to retain all seats. Odds here? At least three gains....maybe four.
Monday, 7 October 2019
Should the US Leave Syria?
The plan put out today is that the US troops would leave rather quickly out of Syria, and Turkey would be taking the ISIS prisoners, with the likely plan for Turkey to exercise control over this extreme northern region of Syria (the Kurds operate this zone).
Anger by the Kurds? They kinda want their own independent area, without Assad or the Turks, and the US 'protection' was the only way to achieve that.
How many US troops? No one really says. It might just be in the 1,000 to 2,000 range.
So what happens now? First, you have to wonder about these ISIS prisoners, of which around a thousand are European prisoners, and Trump wanted all of them returned to their native lands.....which most European countries said 'NO'.
What will Turkey say? I'm guessing here, but I think they will put them on a raft with clean clothing and drop them as refugees on some Greek isle, and a month or two down the line.....some Greeks piece together that these are all former ISIS folks....getting highly upset. The Turks offering to take them back? Maybe, but for a price.
As for this Kurd influence continuing in northern Syria? No....that will end.
It wasn't the war for the US to be in, or change dynamics. Go back to Senator McCain's visit in 2013, and ask about his connection to the ISIS players at that meeting. A bunch of people felt they were helping....in bringing civil war to Syria. In the end, they just made it more miserable for everyone in Syria.
Anger by the Kurds? They kinda want their own independent area, without Assad or the Turks, and the US 'protection' was the only way to achieve that.
How many US troops? No one really says. It might just be in the 1,000 to 2,000 range.
So what happens now? First, you have to wonder about these ISIS prisoners, of which around a thousand are European prisoners, and Trump wanted all of them returned to their native lands.....which most European countries said 'NO'.
What will Turkey say? I'm guessing here, but I think they will put them on a raft with clean clothing and drop them as refugees on some Greek isle, and a month or two down the line.....some Greeks piece together that these are all former ISIS folks....getting highly upset. The Turks offering to take them back? Maybe, but for a price.
As for this Kurd influence continuing in northern Syria? No....that will end.
It wasn't the war for the US to be in, or change dynamics. Go back to Senator McCain's visit in 2013, and ask about his connection to the ISIS players at that meeting. A bunch of people felt they were helping....in bringing civil war to Syria. In the end, they just made it more miserable for everyone in Syria.
Reforger 2020?
Back in 1969, the US went and held a major military exercise in Germany...which was coined 'Reforger'. The key to the 1969 exercise was that it would involve all of the US Army troops in Germany, and transport ships/aircraft would bring thousands more.
Through the years, all the way to May of 1993, there was a Reforger exercise (there are a couple of exceptions in this period, but it was almost yearly). Most Army guys would describe it as three to four weeks on the go....either to get to the play area, to participate in the 'gaming', and then to return to home station.
At the conclusion of 1993 exercise, that was generally it. No one felt an urgent need to do some massive exercise of that size. Well, up until now.
What the exercise was mostly about? That's an amusing part of the story....typically there's no bullets fired or cannon rounds involved. The 'teams' move from point 'A' to point 'B', then move to point 'C', and onto 'D'....with some end-of-exercise announcement. It's mostly to say that you could move thousands of troops in a matter of days across the Atlantic, and be prepared for some conflict.
Today, the US and Germany announced that in the spring of 2020.....37,000 US Army troops will participate in another massive exercise. They will gather in Germany (via transport ships and aircraft, along with present-day assigned US troops in Germany) and make their way to Poland and the Baltic region. Both countries kinda admit....they haven't done anything like this in at least 25 year. I would go and suggest that it's the most massive exercise since 1993.
Just the US and Germany involved? No....19 members of NATO will participate.
Problems?
Well, let's start with the general hub for the US tank and APC vehicles will be in Luneburg. That's the hub point. It's roughly 30 miles SE of Hamburg....the capital of radicals, extremists, and revolutionaries. Every single group in Hamburg will be focused on Luneburg, and thousands of German police will be required to 'keep the peace'.
Anger by the Green and Linke Party membership? Yes, they will voice some concern, and likely call for Germany to leave NATO. I expect half of the SPD Party membership to agree with that topic.
Harsh journalistic criticism.....that Germany doesn't need these type of exercises? Probably so. Public TV networks will do forums over the topic.
The potential failures of the German Bundeswehr to cease movement or operations because of maintenance issues? That's guaranteed, and I'll even wager that a quarter of all German tanks are red-lined by the 10th day.
The Greta-kids and XR-kids demonstrating against the military exercise? More than likely.
So if this ends up as a massive 'goat-rope' (the US term for a 9th-degree mess).....you can look across the German spectrum and identify all of the problems and suggest that Germany is unable to participate in NATO because of maintenance issues, money woes, and public frustration with radicals. Politically, it would be a thorn for the 2021 national election in Germany.
Through the years, all the way to May of 1993, there was a Reforger exercise (there are a couple of exceptions in this period, but it was almost yearly). Most Army guys would describe it as three to four weeks on the go....either to get to the play area, to participate in the 'gaming', and then to return to home station.
At the conclusion of 1993 exercise, that was generally it. No one felt an urgent need to do some massive exercise of that size. Well, up until now.
What the exercise was mostly about? That's an amusing part of the story....typically there's no bullets fired or cannon rounds involved. The 'teams' move from point 'A' to point 'B', then move to point 'C', and onto 'D'....with some end-of-exercise announcement. It's mostly to say that you could move thousands of troops in a matter of days across the Atlantic, and be prepared for some conflict.
Today, the US and Germany announced that in the spring of 2020.....37,000 US Army troops will participate in another massive exercise. They will gather in Germany (via transport ships and aircraft, along with present-day assigned US troops in Germany) and make their way to Poland and the Baltic region. Both countries kinda admit....they haven't done anything like this in at least 25 year. I would go and suggest that it's the most massive exercise since 1993.
Just the US and Germany involved? No....19 members of NATO will participate.
Problems?
Well, let's start with the general hub for the US tank and APC vehicles will be in Luneburg. That's the hub point. It's roughly 30 miles SE of Hamburg....the capital of radicals, extremists, and revolutionaries. Every single group in Hamburg will be focused on Luneburg, and thousands of German police will be required to 'keep the peace'.
Anger by the Green and Linke Party membership? Yes, they will voice some concern, and likely call for Germany to leave NATO. I expect half of the SPD Party membership to agree with that topic.
Harsh journalistic criticism.....that Germany doesn't need these type of exercises? Probably so. Public TV networks will do forums over the topic.
The potential failures of the German Bundeswehr to cease movement or operations because of maintenance issues? That's guaranteed, and I'll even wager that a quarter of all German tanks are red-lined by the 10th day.
The Greta-kids and XR-kids demonstrating against the military exercise? More than likely.
So if this ends up as a massive 'goat-rope' (the US term for a 9th-degree mess).....you can look across the German spectrum and identify all of the problems and suggest that Germany is unable to participate in NATO because of maintenance issues, money woes, and public frustration with radicals. Politically, it would be a thorn for the 2021 national election in Germany.
The Gate and Security
In early August of 1977....late into the evening, our bus from the San Antonio airport had pulled up to Lackland AFB for boot-camp. It was one of those moments that you kinda remember. SPs at the gate getting the Ok by the military guy escorting us (forty of us on the bus) to enter. The gate-guards? All armed with a pistol. There was a sign or two, but you couldn't make that out (too small of font).
As the months and years went by, you got use to the gate procedure, and eventually one day....I stood close enough to the stupid signs to read them. You actually need to be within eight feet to read the small font. It basically says there's significant security on this military reservation, and either 'force' or 'deadly force' is then uttered.
It's hard to say if there's any difference between 'force' and 'deadly force'. Either way, Airman Cindy has a pistol.
After 9-11, all that 'deadly force' stuff ramped-up and the guards all started to hold M-16s and if you did something really stupid....you were going to be shot dead. Along the way, they installed the flip-barriers, which take around two seconds to come up enough to stop all vehicles.
So this 'accident' at Warner-Robins AFB, Georgia on Friday evening interests me. Some car speeds through.....never showing an ID, and the SP guard hits the button for the barrier to pop-up. With the high speed of the car, and impact....two guys are immediately dead and the third will die at the hospital. Oddly, all three lacked an ID, and two days after the accident.....no one apparently knows the ID of the three. Teenagers on the run? Maybe, just a bit odd.
Failure to read that stupid sign business at the front-gate? Well....maybe if they'd read the sign and realized that Airman Jimmy wouldn't hesitate to hit the button, or shoot-out the car, all three would be alive today.
As the months and years went by, you got use to the gate procedure, and eventually one day....I stood close enough to the stupid signs to read them. You actually need to be within eight feet to read the small font. It basically says there's significant security on this military reservation, and either 'force' or 'deadly force' is then uttered.
It's hard to say if there's any difference between 'force' and 'deadly force'. Either way, Airman Cindy has a pistol.
After 9-11, all that 'deadly force' stuff ramped-up and the guards all started to hold M-16s and if you did something really stupid....you were going to be shot dead. Along the way, they installed the flip-barriers, which take around two seconds to come up enough to stop all vehicles.
So this 'accident' at Warner-Robins AFB, Georgia on Friday evening interests me. Some car speeds through.....never showing an ID, and the SP guard hits the button for the barrier to pop-up. With the high speed of the car, and impact....two guys are immediately dead and the third will die at the hospital. Oddly, all three lacked an ID, and two days after the accident.....no one apparently knows the ID of the three. Teenagers on the run? Maybe, just a bit odd.
Failure to read that stupid sign business at the front-gate? Well....maybe if they'd read the sign and realized that Airman Jimmy wouldn't hesitate to hit the button, or shoot-out the car, all three would be alive today.
Sunday, 6 October 2019
The 'Joker' Worry
This week, there's been a lot of hype over people worrying about the new movie 'Joker' and the violent content related to the storyline.
Lets be honest here....the Joker is a fictionalized character, who has been around for more than sixty years. It's just that someone finally asked the question....how did the mortal human eventually turn into the Joker.
You could see over the past three years, this twist and turn with the Gotham series, and how Jerome Valeski transformed himself....week by week....into crazy nut-case with an agenda to 'fix' society. Except the movie version has gone to the ninth degree, and this Joker is crazy serious about resolving the woes of society.
Worrying about fictional character hype?
Should this crowd have said something when Breaking Bad came out and you were introduced to Walter White and Gus Fring? Most of us came to respect both guys.
What about Hannibal Lecter?
What about Saruman the White from Lord of the Rings?
What about Lord Voldemont from the Harry Potter series?
What about that Annie Wilkes nutcase gal from Misery?
There are a thousand bad-guy fictional characters out there. Some of them are just plain nut-crazy....like that Alex character from Fatal Attraction, the psycho nutcase who probably has damaged over 10,000 American guys after they watched the movie and got permanent damage from it. Those guys will never marry or have a true relationship.
So I don't see what the heck these idiots are warped-up about. Fake worry? More or less. Like fake news.
Lets be honest here....the Joker is a fictionalized character, who has been around for more than sixty years. It's just that someone finally asked the question....how did the mortal human eventually turn into the Joker.
You could see over the past three years, this twist and turn with the Gotham series, and how Jerome Valeski transformed himself....week by week....into crazy nut-case with an agenda to 'fix' society. Except the movie version has gone to the ninth degree, and this Joker is crazy serious about resolving the woes of society.
Worrying about fictional character hype?
Should this crowd have said something when Breaking Bad came out and you were introduced to Walter White and Gus Fring? Most of us came to respect both guys.
What about Hannibal Lecter?
What about Saruman the White from Lord of the Rings?
What about Lord Voldemont from the Harry Potter series?
What about that Annie Wilkes nutcase gal from Misery?
There are a thousand bad-guy fictional characters out there. Some of them are just plain nut-crazy....like that Alex character from Fatal Attraction, the psycho nutcase who probably has damaged over 10,000 American guys after they watched the movie and got permanent damage from it. Those guys will never marry or have a true relationship.
So I don't see what the heck these idiots are warped-up about. Fake worry? More or less. Like fake news.
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