Three Things

 1.  A discussion started up in Canada yesterday.....where the northern part of British Columbia  (mostly conservatives residents) wants to break  apart from main British Columbia...as Saskatchewan and Alberta go off on their own.

Does Canadian law allow a state to break apart?  Yes.

So what might happen?  There would be a voting process....where the 'North Coast' (name given to the area)...where they would vote to separate, and then vote to unify to whatever Alberta and Saskatchewan would go toward.

This being a slap in the face of the Vancouver region (mostly a liberal region)? Yeah.

Can Vancouver as a smaller state survive?  Well....now you get into how big a chunk 'North Coast' intends  to be.  Some folks used a map and split the two into equal pieces.

Someone else pointed out....once you get about 50 miles north of Vancouver....it's  around 70-perecent conservatives, and fairly rural. It's possible....district by district, you might get to the point where 80-percen of British Columbia would separate  from British Columbia, and mean a very small chunk....with the population being 75-percent pro-Canada and lean 'left'.

Creating more chaos back in Ottawa?  Yeah....they probably weren't expecting individual provinces to break apart.

2.  All this "alien" interstellar object talk?

This 7-mile long object is set to pass through around November of this year.   

If it were a alien vehicle?

I pondered upon this, coming to three theories:

First, it's just a unique space rock and worthless to discuss.

Second, it's a alien vehicle set to land, and looking for folks to immigrate to their world...to do the crap-work.

Third, they've got millions of folks...who want to immigrate into the EU and US.....meaning the present migrant folks now have competition.

I'm mostly leaning toward a worthless rock.

3.  By the end of 2026....I don't see the Fed (as it exists today)....being around.  This will be one of the 3 big parts of the mid-term election (my belief).  Whatever comes next....has to be connected to the President.....so he can fire as required.

Do We Really Need The Fed?

 Just for history purposes....prior to 1913....the Fed didn't exist.  The trigger?  Well....the 'Panic of 1907'....caused a lot of banks to dissolve (not really giving anyone a blame-vehicle).

What caused this 1907 event?  Mostly....a international liquidity shortage and culminated in a run on trust companies in New York City (the big boys at the time).  Stocks within a one-week period....dropped by 50-percent of value.  I should point out.....in the midst of this developing situation...the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company occurred (3rd biggest bank of the city).

In the eyes of the Senate....the fix here to prevent 'forever' 1907 events....was to create the Federal Reserve.

To stabilize the economy...they have monetary policy tools, interest rate adjustments and open market operations, to help manage inflation and unemployment.

The Fed has crisis management  tools....acting as a lender of 'last resort), providing liquidity to banks during crises.  (Example:  the $700 billion TARP program in 2008....prevented bank runs).

Then, there's the global influence tool....which helps (or hurts) the dollar.

On the negative side?  The Fed doesn't have to be a 'friend' of the White House, the Congress, or the American people.

Does the Fed distort markets?  Absolutely.

Currency devaluation?  The Fed gets into the middle of this and probably is more of a 'monster'.

Finally, firing the Fed when necessary....is near impossible.

Do I see the Fed going away?   You'd  simply replace it with something else.  The bigger tool....a yearly audit by an outside Fed element....might be a better tool. 

Three Theories Of Mine

 1.  The Mayor Bass-China-Land 'grab'.

I have this theory that Mayor Bass of LA is slow-balling the reconstruction permits....mostly on the word by her Chinese support....at some point, people will  give up and easily sell....then Chinese 'cash' will float in and ten-thousand properties are bought over a 6-month period.

The reason?  Mostly speculation.....that they can hold the property for a year or so....then massive interest will arrive (for a profit).

I also believe within this theory....the re-sell idea will never take off, and the city of LA will  be forced to use the court system to seize the China-owned property when they can't pay the property tax.

2.  Complicated matters should always mandate a plan 'B' situation.

I have the theory that 90 percent of people....if in a complicated situation....will never imagine a plan 'B'.

The other 10-percent of folks? They always seem stoic in nature....never worried.

3.  The lack of insurance problem in rebuilding LA.

Eventually when some guys get their permit, and go to the bank for the loan to rebuild.....the bank is  going to  say....how has fire protection improved for insurance purposes.

The banks (roughly 99-percent of them) will refuse to provide a mortgage situation...then you find....to get the deal....the insurance company wants $20k  a  year. So you pause...reflect, and give up.

Four Things

 1.  Not page one news....but Quebec (the province of Canada) chatted yesterday on the idea of leaving Canada.  Basically, they started a one-year  project to write the exit-plan.  

What happens if Saskatchewan, Quebec and Alberta leave? The remaining parts of Canada would not survive, and this whole 51st state chatter gets pretty bold.  I don't think Quebec has any intention of  joining the US....more than likely seeing if France has a open-door.

2.  What is 'emotional labor'?

Well....simply trying to make a 'science' out doing routine work....that you need emotions while stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart, or flipping burgers at BK.

3.  What is a weak politician?

Usually....they speak softly, avoid responsibility, and dismantle everything they claim to protect.

4.  The six requirements for a far-far-left liberal lady?  Thick framed glasses, bad hair (usually florescent or pink), chunky, crappy tattoos (like drawn by a 8-year-old kid with no art talent), some type of obvious piercing (you don't want to know about the 12 piercings), incoherent for at least four hours out of day. 

Four Things

 1.  Are there any business formulas for operations with heavy shop-lifting rates?

Basically, you spend a fair amount of money on cameras, extra security, prosecution  and preventative actions....passing the cost to regular customers.  So if a pair of tennis shoes in a 'safe' place was $40....it's probably $50 to $60 in a heavy shop-lift landscape.

And if you were wondering why Amazon seems cheaper than your mall-store.....well....this is why.

2.  How many hoaxes have you stumbled across in the past 12 months, and does it start to bother you?

3.  There's not a week that goes by....where I see someone on TV (the news) and I question their IQ rate....thinking it's below 80.  It wasn't this way in the 1990s.

4.  In the past month, I've started to think that Epstein was bluffing everyone...was NOT working for the CIA or Mossad, and probably was connected in some way to FSB (the former KGB of Russia).

The Air Force Tie 'Code'

 Of all the Air Force uniform combinations....the one I hated with passion for 22 years....was the blues-with-a-tie-but-no-jacket combination.

In this combo.....you had the  shirt buttoned to the top....a tie worn, and the tie had to reaching the belt, but not extending past the belt bottom.

So I never  learned the art of tying a tie until after I left the  Air Force.  This meant a 'clip-on'.....and the stupid tie never reached belt top (I'm a tall guy).  So this once-to-twice a year situation....meant I had to wear the jacket.  

I noticed this past week....the CMSgt of the Air Force....got written up for a photo op....where he wore the blue combo shirt, with the tie about one inch above the belt.  I'd take a guess he was wearing a clip-on.  

Yeah, it's a stupid fashion 'rule', and it simply makes people anti-tie.  

The 'Tent-Tribe'

 At some point between 2010 and 2020....if you traveled around Seattle, Portland, LA or SF....you started to notice a collection of 'Tent-Tribes'....mostly homeless people that had the cash to buy camping equipment (either a tent, camper-trailer, or RV) and they just hung out. 

I asked someone where this originated, and the answer given was that rent reached a level where the dysfunctional folks had no options left. If you'd asked about 1930's hobos....it was the same answer....they camped out  because they couldn't afford rent.

What's different between now and the 1930s?  Oddly....people respect the lifestyle of the Tent-Tribe today.  In the 1930s....no one wanted them in their town or neighborhood.

Yeah, it's like an Indian tribal thing....they got respect...mostly for living like some Indian on the open plains.