Virus Chatter

James Woods wrote a Tweet today and asked the magic question:

It has been widely suggested that the #CoronaVirus was developed in the Wuhan Virology Lab in Wuhan, China and accidentally leaked into the population. Pure speculation, but if true, this question remains: what was the intended use for this “designer” virus in the first place?

So you sit and ponder upon this.

First, there is evidence existing to show that the virus was actually around in Europe (in Spain) around March of 2019.  

I tend to think that with various projects going on with this Virology Lab in Wuhan....someone sat there on some project, with the 2019 Chinese New Year week off period coming up, and told some clean-up crew to take care of some area, and the crew went beyond what was required.....removing the virus materials, and contaminating themselves.  

Week by week, this bounced around.....a dozen here, a hundred there.

What was the lab experiment in the first place?  They simply had isolated a bat virus, and wondering what would happen....that's my simple guess.

Beyond that, I don't think this was developed as some weapon.  If that was the intention, it's destroyed a great deal of the Chinese business development and financial stability.  

Ghost Reparations Story

Back in the 1970s of Zimbabwe....the nation was falling apart in a civil war.  So some promises were made to various military groups revolving around land reform.  The war ended in 1979, and in the 1980s....Robert Mugabe acted upon his land deal.  

What he basically did....involved a massive agricultural enterprise that had been developed over a hundred years, which not only fed Zimbabwa with no problems.....but profits from the crop sector came from various neighboring countries.  

When the smoke cleared by the 1990s....most all farms in Zimbabewa had flipped from white owned operations (large in nature) to small farms (all black owned in nature).

So a 2,000 acre farm would be broken up into 1k small farms.  The production level of the nation when to a level where they couldn't even farm enough....to feed their own country.....so they were importing from other countries.  

Paying the white owners for the land or the equipment lost?  No....nothing.  

Around a decade ago, Zimbabwe started to admit this issue was screwed up.  They'd screwed up the whole financial apparatus that supported a vast part of the revenue plan for the country.

This past week, they wrote up a plan to create a 3.5-billion dollar effort....to pay the white farmers for the improvements made to the land.   Some of the owners have been gone for 30-plus years.  

Where the money will come from?  Unknown.  

Most speculate that there might be 10 to 20 million dollars a year put toward the plan each year, and some showing of effort, but beyond that....it's really a 'ghost reparation'.  It's simply meant to show something.  

Bringing the white farmers back?  No....zero intention to accomplish that.  It's just a PR thing and supposed to show that a mistake was made.  

Corona Worry Story

I watched (clip-wise) about 15 minutes of the John Lewis funeral.....which was held in his home state of Georgia.

So, what's interesting here, dozens of Congressional folks were there, with at least a hundred-odd journalists who are based out of Washington.

If you follow DC 'bans'....there's a list of states which require you.....upon returning to DC....to sit in a mandatory home quarantine for two weeks.  

Yes, Georgia is on that list. 

The list creator?  Mayor Bowser of DC.

The odds that some 'second-wave' starts up from this funeral?  It wouldn't surprise me.  But the hypocritical attitude here.....rules are for little people....not for us?  It just stands out.  

Just Observations

1.  The CDC says (you can't doubt them): School age kids with the Coronavirus have a one in a million risk of dying.  The same kids, with regular flu, have a 5 to 10 times higher risk of dying.

I know....it begs questions, but you just need to accept that fact.

Oh, and by the way....the same CDC says that for teenagers.....it's a better chance you will die via suicide or drugs, than by Covid-19.

2.  Who actually called the police in Minneapolis on George Floyd, with the counterfeit $20 bill issue?  Originally, people thought the store owner called....but no, this was a teenage employee of the store, who noted that store protocol was to report such incidents.  The owner, after the death and riots....said that he would have NEVER called the police on the counterfeit $20 bill.

Some parts of the story never make sense, and it's better not to get to attached to the truth.

3.  The speed on which the Portland riot folks will cease their operation?  On 19 August, the Oregon public school system will re-open, and the bulk of riot folks who do hold jobs....MUST return to work.  My humble guess is that 30 to 50 percent of the protest folks will disappear at that point.

4. I had to sit and watch some Bill Gates commentary today that waiting 48 hours for Covid-19 test results was ridiculous.

If you walk around Europe, you can get the 6-to-8 hour test result deal done for around $250.  The 12 to 24 hour test?  In the $130 range. 

5.  Number of registered Republican voters in Nevada? Around 530k.  Number of Democratic voters in Nevada?  Around 624k.  All others? 460k roughly.  Totally different kind of race in 2020, without McMuffin.  The odds are heavily in favor of Nevada going from the Hillary column to the Trump column in 2020.

If Harris is the VP Choice?

I'm mostly shaking my head.  There's probably five individuals I would have easily gone to instead of Harris, and probably gotten better 'traction' for the vote.  Since April, I figured that Warren or Bloomberg would be VP.  At a long-shot....I would have even put Mayor Pete into the situation.

But this was limited to the 'golden-rule'.....you had to be female and black.  Once you established that situation....you cut the potential down a great deal.

So the questions left?

Will there be a convention?  At this point, I'd say there might be forty people sent by the DNC, and some Twitter-type convention might occur.  I'd even go as far to suggest that Biden might hold a convention in his basement, with 12 DNC officials, Senator Harris, his wife, and local pizza kid.

For several months, I've suggested that Joe will reach a point after the convention, where he either has a heart-attack (fake) or says yeah....dementia is now a problem.  I still believe that may come, with Harris the one left to be the candidate in November.  If we get past 1 September, with Joe still there?  It'll really shock me.

As for Harris attracting voters?  She doesn't have the charisma, the charm, or the character.  If you wanted someone with less structure, and less potential than Hillary....then Harris is it. 

So I'm shaking my head.....this is an arranged poker hand to marginally run against Trump. 

Barr and the 'Circus'

I put between 90 and 120 minutes into watching the House hearing from yesterday, with AG Barr.  I came away with five observations:

1.  In the old days, prior to the internet, C$PAN would have covered this but you needed cable or satellite connectivity.  At the very most, maybe 300k Americans would have watched the hearing. 

Today?  Via at least ten different internet platforms, C$PAN, Fox Business, etc.....there were probably 10-million who watched elements of the hearing live, and probably another 10-plus million who watched clips later. 

A lot of people....independent-type voters, probably sat there and kept asking themselves where the drama was, and just viewed the whole thing as a 'circus-like' operation with 12-year-old kids trying to act like adults. 

2.  This exchange with Rep Hakeem Jeffries, where Jeffries wanted to play the fantasy game that Trump wouldn't leave office if the election went to Biden....was 5-star comical. 

3.  Once Barr laid down the card of the Republicans being the only ones against violence and destruction in the metropolitan cities....it really scorched the whole Democratic accomplishments of the Hearing.  It begs the question....is this a Democratic Party agenda item?

4.  Ineffective hearing?  In terms of bringing down Barr, or really damaging Trump?  It was barely felt.  The suggestion that Jerry Nadler can't lead a heavy-type critical Hearing?  Here's the thing, you go around the 24 Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee, and there's no one in the group who'd you grant five-status as a lawyer.  Most of them haven't stepped into a courtroom in twenty years. 

5.  It just wasn't much of a drama, with 'point of order' and 'reclaim time' being uttered on a constant basis.  It would help if the entire committee was made up of nine people total, and just end the 'drama' at the 2-hour point. 

Experts of What?

In the past two months, it's painfully obvious that Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube have a medical advice policy.

Most of us could understand an 'insult' policy or a various policies to ensure the calm nature of people.  But a medical advice policy?  Who sits on this board for each?

It'd be like some Alaskan lumberjack having a policy on handling of alligators, or some NY subway management team having a policy on the hauling of cattle on subway cars. 

So the question ought to resonate there.....why have a medical advice policy?

Portland Story

I noticed in the news this morning....Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Council Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty chatted up that they want a meeting Department of Homeland Security 'chief' Chad Wolf immediately.  Topic?  How to get federal law enforcement officers from the city of Portland gone. 

First, will Wolf even respond.  My guess is 'no'.  Around about Friday....the Wheeler/Hardesty team will ask the Governor for 'help'.  He'll pick up the phone and attempt to call Wolf....to find that other than a five-minute chat with Wolf, there's zero interest in Wolf's mind to meet with the Portland leadership.

So then you go to the big dynamic of this discussion.....does the mayor or city council chief have any control over their riot-squad?  The answer?  No.

Then you start to speculate....if Wheeler and Hardesty don't control anything, why bother even inviting Wolf to a meeting?  Wolf's likely response would be that every single protester has to settle down and peace has to be seen for ten  days straight before any federal law folks leave town. Wheeler and Hardesty can't deliver that.

The whole discussion here?  I think the town revenue collection folks have added up the numbers and indicate that hotels are empty, bars and restaurants in the downtown area are conducting virtually no business, and there's this fear that chaos will reign on for another 100 days (until the election).  For Wheeler and Hardesty....that's a dismal future to gaze upon.

The city budget for next year?  Around a month ago, the council passed the next budget....5.6-billion dollars.  Getting to that,with Covid-19 and the riots?  Physically impossible.  You would have to revisit property taxes and fees for the city.

My guess is that the budget folks have visited Wheeler and Hardesty....giving them a view of a budget shortfall occurring before the end of 2020.

In simple terms, if Wheeler and Hardesty fail to get the riot/chaos resolved, a massive problem in budget cuts will come by early 2021.  Homeland Security has sat now at the poker table, and concluded the way to play this game....be the magnet to attract BLM/Antifa, and just keep them busy on the streets of Portland.  This will bankrupt the city, unless it dissolves the mess.

How 'Compound' Neighborhoods Work

Looking at the Seattle, Portland, LA, and San Francisco environment....homelessness....drug activity....police defunding...it's difficult to see the current home situation continuing 'as is'.  In ten to twenty years, it wouldn't surprise if new neighborhood rise up out of the 'ashes', and become compound neighborhoods like you see in South Africa.

The way these work?

You leave the main road and go down a street where a guard post exists....typically with two or three armed guys. Behind the gate will be two jeep-like vehicles with two guys in each vehicle.....heavily armed.

You flash your entry badge and the gate rises.  You go down the guarded street to your home....feeling safe and secure.  You enter the home to find a gun locker near the front-door. 

The regional laws are written in a way that should anyone cross the wire and enter the area....the guard crews can react with deadly force. 

In South Africa, this is the accepted form of security.  You as the resident....pay the neighborhood 'company' to survey the fence-line, monitor cameras, and control entry to the neighborhood.  The police?  They are not part of your security, and generally.....there's enough laws to make them more or less....the clean-up crew after the private security folks have done the job necessary.

All of this is coming to the west coast and probably Minneapolis....over the next twenty years.  People will laugh about the first big secure neighborhood put up and the crew hired to protect people and property.  But eventually.....everyone who makes 'real' money....will buy into such neighborhoods.

Consulate Discussion

For the record, because news organization never ask these questions....up until last week, there were five Chinese consulates in the US.  With the Houston facility 'closed'.....there are now four left:

1.  LA
2.  SF
3. Chicago
4.  New York

The Chinese reaction by the forced closure?  They picked the US facility in Chengdu to close.

The rumor that the Chinese will shut down the US consulate in Hong Kong?  Just a rumor.  The Chinese would have to calculate that one of their consulates on the US west coast would then be picked for the next closure. 

West Coast of Wasington

For 13 months, I was stationed and lived in the Tacoma area of Washington state in the early 1980s.

For years after I left, I had this 'desire' to return and live there.  I'd call it more of an enchantment than anything else.

First, there was the weather.  It was never truly hot in the summer, or bitter-cold in the winter.  Total snowfall for that period there....just over 1.5 inches. I admit....it rained two-hundred-odd days out of the year (usually a 30-minute passing of showers).

Second, within a six-hour drive, you had probably fifty-different state or national parks/forest areas.  If you just wanted to go to a beach and watch the sun go down....it was the perfect place.

Third, at least in that era of the early 1980s, you could go anywhere in the region and feel fairly safe.  Even downtown Seattle, was this hub of no activity. 

I think a lot of military people passed through the region and felt the same way.  It had charm and character.  It was quiet, and had all this landscape.  Today?  I'm not so sure about the charm or character. 

The Thing About Gun Safety

I noticed in the news this morning....one of these protest events....in Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in some BLM armed militia group making a 'show'. 

The thing about the past BLM armed militia 'shows'....they seem to be dressed up for the occasion (cammo gear), and look remarkably 'fake' (like actors). 

From this event in Louisville, an interesting thing happen.  Somewhere in the handling of the weapons, one of the guys had the weapon of 'fire' instead of 'safety'.  The weapon went off....couple of rounds...wounding three of his associates.

The comment by militia head guy?  "Things like this happen". 

In general, you have to rely on folks around handling their weapon properly.  So the bothersome piece of this event is that you get the impression that some of these folks have never held a gun in their life, and never received true gun safety classes in their life.  Yet here they are.....some might be true militia folks.....some might be actors for the day and holding guns.

So this brings me to the Barney-moment. Andy allows took away all of Barney's bullets, giving one single bullet for his pocket.  It was good gun-safety that Andy applied.  I look at the militia folks and think they might want to go the same way.  Hand an empty clip to the guy to parade around in, and then hand him a filled clip for his pocket (should it be required). 

The three wounded folks?  No one says much, but I would imagine that their wives are asking some serious questions about where they were, and what they were doing yesterday. 

Math and Portland

Doing the math on Portland is a simple task.

You figure around 1k protesters.  They stay at local hotels.  You can figure around 500 rooms being rented in the local area, at $75 per night.  So $37.5k is spent nightly, or $262.5k weekly.

Food and beer money?  Some suggest that pizza is bought in bulk fashion, or that 'gift-cards' from the burger operations are handed out.  So you can figure from the 1k protest kids....$30k daily is spent in this fashion.  That's $210k per week. 

Then you come to the question of some 'upper' pills being handed out (milder forms of meth) and weed.   My humble guess is that for the 1k kids....roughly $30 a day is spent on the pills and weed....equaling $30k a day, or $210k a week.

So to assemble the protest crowd....it's in the range of $700k a week. 

Cash?  In order to deny the Feds any tracking information....I would go and suggest that virtually all of this is being done (even at the hotels) in the form of cash.  Some guy is walking around in the interest of the protest crowd, and probably carries $100k a day in cold hard cash in his pocket.  He probably gets 'loaded' every morning, and that's his job.....walk around and settle up with pizza bills, buy weed and pills, and cover hotel costs.

So a month is costing $2.4-million?  Yep.

You can watch the videos and this is mostly done at night....to confuse you on numbers.  I don't think there's more than 1k.

Covering this from day one....to election day?  You would need in excess of $14-million....in cash. 

It just begs the question....who walks around and has $14-million being dispensed into cash? 

Seven Things That You Realize About People in 2020

It's been one of those years, where you sit and analyze a lot of things that have happened, the character of people, and how screwed up things are.  Then you gaze at people and realize:

1.  A lot of people can't perceive the bigger or smaller of their problems....they just juggle them around like they were something they were proud of and wanted people to respect.

2.  A lot of 20-year old 'kids' seem to be thinking they are some kind of 'Einstein' and deserving of respect.  Then you kinda hint to them that their behavior is that of a 7-year old 'brat'.

3.  About a third of the nation are unable to sit on a porch with three random guests and conduct a reasonable Sunday afternoon discussion.

4.  If you are in the middle of seven-year-old 'brats'....realizing that you can't educate, teach, or discipline them....what will their lives be in a dozen years?

5.  Some babble about bringing the end of capitalism about, yet these are the same folks who flew in on passenger jet to 'guest' on some show....dressed in $300 Italian shoes, and will be eating off a $75 dish of food at the hotel after the interview. 

6.  We are reaching a point where most trailer trash 'whores' seem more likable  and personable....than Marxist-ideology folks pepped-up on Mountain Dew. 

7.  People seem to spend a huge amount of time....in some fantasy dream of who they are, or what they are. 

The Five Essential Weaknesses of Antifa

There are probably a lot of weaknesses, but these are the ones which would readily collapse it in the end.  I spent a fair amount of time over this weekend....thinking about this, and the whole 'movement'.

1.  It's really not a terror unit.

I think a lot of people have envisioned it as a pure terror operation.  It's not that type.  It's more of a cult.  Yes, a plain regular cult.

College kids get the HR recruitment angle via professors, and reach a stage of not questioning logic or end-result.  It's pure indoctrination that you'd get with some religious cult.

The cult plan is to convince kids that anyone that questions them, their logic, or their plan for the future....is a threat to the cult (Antifa).

Kids are driven to accomplish the terror acts....for little to no money.  Usually, their trip or lodgings are financed, and maybe they get $200 in cash for their weekend of effort.  Typically, they only work a single weekend.  For this present episode, there's probably a minimum of a $1,000 per week being expended (just my humble guess).

2.  The college professors are the indoctrination team.

They do the brain-wash, and then hand off the new recruits to slightly older students who are masters-degree or PhD program candidates.  They form a cell operation.  If you remove the professors....recruitment drops off real quick.

3.  Working-class people don't fit.  They believe in capitalism.....working to make money, and appreciate things they've earned.  Antifa can't really find these folks and recruit them.

4.  When you've finally gotten arrested for something serious, you are kinda dependent upon the lawyers that the Antifa team hire for you.  If you got real stupid and hurt someone badly?  Well....those lawyers aren't going to be able to help you much. 

So reality sets in.....then you start to realize that real jail is openly discussed now, and your parents can't help you....nor can Antifa.

5.  You ever seen any 40-year old Antifa folks?  Most grow up and leave the movement because they can't see the future developing in a Marxist way.  They lose focus, and become an adult. 

The Thing About Drinking Establishments

So among the Covid rules in California....they wrote a measure on outdoor restaurants.  It says that if you order alcohol.....any type....that you must order a 'meal'. 

This meal can't be simple things like wings, cheese sticks, calamari or fries.  It has to be an actual Hamburger plate, or steak, or tuna-fish salad.  Basically....you can't get away with a $1.50 bundle of fries, or $3.99 of chicken wings. 

What's this have to do with Covid-19?  Nothing.

As you step into a 'pub' in California....you have to figure at the cheaper level (burger and fries)....it's going to be $10 to $12 for a basic plate, plus the $3 for one single beer.

You were going to have a two or two with three friends to celebrate your new job?  Well....with food included, you'd have to spend near $80 minimum. 

Why go this route?  I sat and ponder upon this.  It'd make more sense to go over to a grocery operation....pick up a bag of chips and a case of beer....with some crushed ice....then meet your friends over at some city park to drink under some tree without the hassle of Covid-19 ban rules.

This is the problem with the government now.....the rules reach a point where they don't really fit the original problem, and you start to ask really stupid questions that can't be answered.

The Right-Foot-Right-Arm Crowd

In general, if you play baseball, softball, bowling, basketball or football.....you will lead with your left foot going forward and your right arm then handling the item in a forward motion.

Watch a quarterback, or a pitcher (in baseball)....the left foot leads, then the right arm follows.

I sat today watching some riot video from Seattle and Portland.  I admit, I probably have better things to spend my time upon. 

It kinda hit me.....with around three-quarters of the crowd in a 'rock-throwing' situation.....they were leading with the right-foot, and throwing with the right.

It's an odd movement of the body, and after you've seen it a couple of times....you go back to earlier videos and see this over and over. 

Why?

People who've participated in sports in their youth....develop the skill of throwing things.  It doesn't matter if you grow up on a farm, or in some coastal city.....if you participate in sports, you develop this 'swing'.

People who don't participate in sports....never get the knack of left-foot-right-arm.

What kind of people are like this?  Mostly gamers, who never played sports.  White boys who pretend to grow up...the type that sat on a gamer set for their entire life.

After you realize this....it's just kinda funny....'warrior-juveniles' with a right-foot-right-arm 'swing'. 

Just Observations

1. Maybe it's just me, but I'm starting to imagine Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis as some Game of Thrones city (King's Landing), with a twist of Gotham City, Nazi Berlin, Dodge City (1875) and Beirut of 1984 in full civil war.

2.  Kanye West was pretty crazy at his first Presidential 'chat'.  I would be willing to pay $300 to see him and Joe Biden in a debate.

3.  Trump and this executive order not to count non-Americans in the final census tally?

It'll be challenged in court, and the Supreme Court will likely invent some way to invalidate it.  But then the problem will arise....there is nothing in the Constitution to say he can or can't do it.  It just says he has to accomplish this every ten years.

Back in 2014, they did a study and concluded around 12-million illegals were in the US.  Out of that, the three states with the bigger issues were California (24-percent of the 12-million), NY (6-percent) and Texas (16-percent).  So you probably can assume in the six years since....another five million arrived, and the state counts remained the same.

If the numbers are NOT counted (by his order) then NY, California and Texas are the states in trouble.  One might assume five to six districts are lost upon the three states.

Why the aggravation and anger by the three?  Well....go imagine trying to redraw the district lines in NY or California, and telling two of these guys that their district is gone and they need to find a real job now.

4.  The House held a vote to cut the Pentagon budget by 10-percent.  Result?  More than 60-percent of Democrats voted with the Republicans.  The measure only carried 93 lousy votes....324 against.  Why attempt some measure like this?  I think Pelosi has lost interest in getting results, and this is just a circus atmosphere for 2020.

5.  With the Chinese 'game' going on in Hong Kong.....how many Hong Kong folks have the 'right' to move to the UK?  Well....if  you do the count on just passports in hand (the right given in 1997)....it's about 350k people.  However, added to this....around another 2.7-million who have the right but currently don't have the UK passport.

My guess, by spring of 2021, around 100k Hong Kong residents will have made the exit and another 250k will leave by the end of 2021.  Will the UK have the apartments and homes for them?  That's a big question.

But added to this....the brain-drain to Hong Kong, and the brain-gain to the UK....will create this huge entrepreneur situation and set the stage for the next decade in the UK.

6.  Surveys on defunding the police?  Depending on who you look at....the 'least' in support is around 80-percent....with various areas of the US strongly shaking their head.

If you wanted to pick a topic where people don't agree....this is one of those.

7. If you are traveling to New York (doesn't matter where in the state)....you have to self-quarantine for 14 days.  The states?  AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, LA, MD, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI.

Destruction of the travel industry?  No doubt, but it's the way they desire it.

8. “Ask ten people what ‘fairness’ means and you can get eleven different definitions.”  Great quote by Thomas Sowell.

This is obviously standing out in the public view now, and one of the top ten most confusing things about the American landscape in 2020.

Four Years Difference

I was walking a good bit today and contemplated some things:

1.  Four years ago, I would have said that Hillary Clinton would have carried 30 to 32 states, and things just didn't go that way. I'm actually laughing over that. 

2.  If you had said that unemployment in the Huntsville (Ala) area would have reached down to 2-percent....I would have laughed.

3.  If you'd said that Trump would be impeached....mostly over talking to some Ukrainian folks and urging an investigation of Joe Biden's 'threat', and the majority of the case involved people who weren't in the room at the time of the call....I would have laughed.

4.  If you'd said that Joe Biden would have taken a serious turn for the worse for dementia, yet still be the chief candidate in July 2020.....I would have laughed.

5.  If you'd said that some x-rated movie actress would have come out and sworn on sex with Trump but no one really cared....I would have laughed. 

6.  If you'd said that the entire case on General Flynn would have developed, and then crashed, and the judge just wouldn't 'let go'.....I would have laughed.

7.  If you'd said that Trump would have hired Omarosa to be on his staff, then fired her, I would have laughed.

8.  If you'd said that a bunch of items would have burned down a whole mostly-black neighborhood in Minneapolis, by white 'kids'.....over the police handling a black guy with a counterfeit $20 bill?  I would have laughed.

9.  If you'd said that a quarter of the news media effort in June would be covering mostly Confederate statues....I would have laughed.

10.  If you'd said that the Washington Redskins would be renaming their club, over Indian criticism, I would have laughed.

11.  If you'd said that Kanye West was running for President, I would have been laughing.

12.  If you'd said that some virus had come from China, and killing mostly older folks around the globe, and be the number one topic of discussion in America....triggering mask-chaos.....I would have been laughing.

13.  If you said that the Ford Bronco would be coming back, I would have been laughing.

14.  If you'd said that the Today Show bigwig Matt Lauer's whole career would fall apart in less than 100 days, I would have laughed.

15.  If you'd said that the whole Russian collusion thing....was totally faked-up, I would have laughed.

16.  If you'd said that 40-percent of blacks were now pro-Trump, I would have laughed. 

Rebooting 'Lost' (the Series)?

I read a piece over the weekend where some folks are in a discussion stage about bringing 'Lost' back.  Year?  Probably not....it's probably a working project for the fall of 2021 or 2022. 

Since I was a fan of Lost, I'll make five observations about the past show:

1.  From the very first episode....it was designed to draw your attention.  I would probably rate it as one of the top three best-written shows of all time.

2.  All this said and done....by the third season, you were in a daze because they were marginally answering questions, and dumping more mystery issues on each single episode.

3.  The best character?  Without any doubt....Mr Ecko.  He held so many possible paths but the actor wanted an exit by the 3rd year.

4.  The number of happy folks over the conclusion?  If you lined up a hundred who watched from day one, to this point.....half would say they were disappointed in the whole ending and feeling cheated.

5.  Finally, you really needed to imagine a lot of things.....with this coming back almost week, to believe even more things.

So the reboot?  I just don't see how this would work.  The island concept?  It's been done....you need to move on.  The mystery upon each week? How? 

I have my doubts....it just will be a couple of guys talking about a reboot, and they quietly dump the talk after three months. 

The Dinosaur Path for the News Media

This morning, I gazed at a Rasmussen Report.

They did this survey asking people about how they felt of the media, and if the news media was biased.

So....87-percent of Republican voters said yes. 

Oddly....42-percent of Democratic voters said yes.

Overall....63-percent of people interviewed said that big guys of the news media....have their own political agenda.

So you gaze at this.

How would you resolve this?  The only answer....tell the news people for a 30-minute newscast....only three minutes can be political, then you have to settle for tornado chatter....nutritional discoveries....science stuff....wild dog attacks....or corruption in Chicago.

The fact that 42-percent of Democrats believe this as well?  It has to be unsettling to sit on the national agenda level and realize that people aren't buying into the use of the news media for your agenda. 

Revolution Chatter

I sat and watched a video this morning of some Portland 'revolutionary-type', who openly said that the goal or mission here...is the abolition or downfall of the United States (as she knows it).

I sat over this for a long while.

In the background, some Catholic priest stood there and clapping his hands over her comments and in full agreement.

There are four essential problems here:

1.  In their minds, revolution is a great thing to hope upon, and will dump that evil capitalism business.  They seem to think that everyone wishes to live under a bridge, eat wild berries, sip government-procured (free) beer, and be nomads.  Yeah, it does appear to be some movie-scenario like in Kevin Costner's 'Postman' movie.

2.  With the abolition business....comes the loss of Constitutional rights (like .  freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc).  I don't think the Catholic priest grasps that part of the agenda....if he did....he'd be in fear of his profession.  Who would be the 'overlord' of rights under this change?  Unknown.

3.  The more this chatter goes on....the more it looks like April/May of 1933 in Nazi Germany.

4.  For the bulk of Democratic voters out there....the working-class people....none of this agenda appeals to them (in any form).  You are actually driving them to Trump's door, and helping them register as Republicans

So I don't see this as being some agenda attracting anyone much over the age of thirty.  In fact, this looks like a script for some 2-star movie about modern civil war in America, and a bunch of folks on 'good' weed without any grasp of the reality around them.

NY Covid-19 Ban Rules

NY made up this stupid rule about bars being open in the Corona period, and one of the rules is that you have to serve 'food'. 

Lets be honest....most 'pure' bars serve peanuts and if you live in the south....they might serve a sausage biscuit. 

So this NY bar said fine....you could still order a beer, and have a couple of grapes, or nine fries....as part of the 'dinner'.

Personally, I'd order the croutons....they go better with beer. 

5th District Georgia Situation

Yesterday, Rep John Lewis passed on.  This leaves a curious problem now.

The election?  Well, in the 5th district, after the primary....John Lewis had easily won this with around 88-percent of the vote, with Barrington Martin II getting roughly 12-percent.

The opposition?  Angela Stanton King.  Enthusiasm for her?  It was not a real primary situation, and she barely drew 8k votes.  Lewis drew 141k primary voters, and Martin drew 20k voters.

So the question here....can a no-name type of young guy like Martin....get the blessing of the party, and maneuver up to win the race?

Will the public turn and ask more questions about King (the Republican)?

Should the health of Lewis been brought up six months ago?  You just shake your head and wonder what the strategy was here....to just run, win, and get as far into the process as possible?

The bigger piece of this puzzle?  The fifth district is basically urbanized Atlanta, so will the recent shooting figure into all of this, and BLM support matter on the replacement pick for the Democratic Party?

The Economic Disaster in Plain Sight

If you go to cities like Atlanta, Chicago, or Phoenix....the local major sports complex is part of the economy, and part of the tax revenue 'game' that helps the city survive. 

People come (sometimes flying in) to catch a game with their team. They might stay two nights in a local hotel (figure $150 a night minimum), spend $200 on food for the weekend, spend at least $150 on entry tickets to the game, and spread around $100 on minor items.  That's $750 minimum spent.

In a town like Milwaukee, with the Bucks (NBA fame)....the season matters.

In a town like Detroit, the Pistons season matters.

So you add up Covid-19 worries, BLM/antifa effects, and current negativity among fans....somewhere out there....there is this disaster waiting to happen.  Imagine an entire NBA season....crapped out and no income for the city.  Imagine also....all the tax revenue that would have flowed into the city....wiped out.

Hotels, upscale bars, and dozens of attachments in each major city....all affected.

So who runs all of these cities...political party wise?  Democrats.  How will they react when 10-percent of the revenue funding doesn't exist and various jobs were lost because of the sports mess going on?  You don't find journalists asking this question.

It ought to be out in full view. 

You had three rich idiots in most of these cities....willing to participate in MLB, NFL and NBA franchise operations.  People paid crazy-money to watch a game, and spent even more money on fan-junk (jerseys, hats, jackets, etc).

For the cities who paid for the arena, stadiums or parks?  Well....what exactly will you do with a stadium but no team?  How will you handle a 15k fan arena for basketball.....if no one will come? 

The 'Phantom-Killer' Swab Story

With all this hyped-up business on Covid-19 and the true or faked tests....I am reminded of this terror incident in Germany from around ten to fifteen years ago.

So, in the early days of CSI-stuff in Germany....DNA tests started to get popular.  They'd come to a murder scene....do the swabs, and look for evidence. 

Several cases around Germany suddenly popped-up, which led to ONE single killer.  This worried the police.

In one case, a break-in of a cottage had occurred, and a swab was done....showing DNA and a witness had said a person appearing to being 14 to 16 years old (a female) was there and had left. The swab test?  Matched the murder count.

Suddenly, the police got all hyped-up.  Teenage serial killer?

A female policeman was murdered.  Swab test?  Led to the same DNA.

So a task force was organized.  Various murders were laid out.  Timelines, locations, accomplishment, etc.

One cop looked at everything, and just said 'no'....it can't be the same person.

So he takes a couple of DNA test kits....bust them open, and swabs thin air (nothing).  He sends them off.  A week later, results come back....it's the phantom-killer. 

He lays out the evidence.  The police authorities are questioning this whole mess.

So they ask the DNA test kit company....who makes your swabs?

Well....it's a company down in Austria. 

So they go drive down.  Here is a rather small operation...maybe a dozen folks who prepare and make swabs in general.  Here are big bulky Austrian women who are in the manufacturing process, sweaty from the summer heat and perspiration dripping a bit, and grabbing up a thousand of these swabs in their arms to throw into a bag....which goes to some company which has a secondary use for them. A swab is a swab in their mind.

The cops stand there....shaking their head.  All this effort over three or four years....all leading to a phantom-killer who was branded as a 14 to 16 year old girl.  All faked-up.

The DNA test kit company?  No one says what happened to them, but I would guess that they folded up and went out of business. 

I look at the Covid-19 testing business, and kinda wonder what kind of people run it, and their trusting nature. 

Times Story

The only newspaper out of the top forty in the US that I consider to be 'even-handed' is Wall Street Journal.  To be honest, their focus is business, and rarely will they tangle up with a pure political story. 

So it was a shock in 2017 when the New York Times came to lure Bari Weiss from the WSJ to the New Times.  She was supposed to bring a even-handed approach.

Today, she resigned.

What she said in her resignation....the general attitude around the paper was that her opinion and guidance was worthless. 

What happens now?  Well...they have to go and hire someone to fill her shoes.  I'm guessing that they will just skip the neutral 'chatter' and hire a Twitter or blogger individual, and just skip the pretend business.

What's all this say about the Times?  If you want the far left 'slant'....the Times will provide it.  Don't worry, they won't lose any additional subscriptions....they've already lost those over the past twenty years.

If NBA and NFL Players Realized the True BLM?

BLM is mostly 99-percent tied to Marxism....which means that everyone needs to be treated at the same level of economic prosperity. 

Using that system, no player from the Detroit Lions should make more than probably $60k a year.  The same for the Boston Celtics....big-money players should not exist.

The fact that these players have not asked questions or grasped this part of the BLM discussion?  It kinda leans toward the idea that they don't know much or just accept things without much talking.

Big sports disappearing within this Marxism period?  Well, this would be the obvious end of all sports in America. 

Just Observations

1. “Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe, if that’s who you believe in, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this earth.”  Quote by CNN's Don Lemon.

Basically, he's dug himself into a pit.  From the black community, he just lost an enormous amount of respect that took years to gain.

2. Biden's 'Buy American' Speech?  700 billion dollars?  Well, here's the odd thing....it's basically the Trump program of 'Make America Great Again', except he'd raise taxes to shuffle the 700 billion into the pot, and have the government either buy American-only products or grant the money out to cities and states to buy American-only products.

If you think about it....federal, state and local already had the money....why not just buy American, without the infusion money?

3.  The Trump tax return 'game'?  Basically, the NY City prosecutor folks are hoping to find tax issues.  But Trump pays professional accountants to take advantage of every single loophole that the city and state has written.  The odds here?  Pretty close to zero, on finding a problem.

So the next issue.....did Trump get discounted rates for loans for his buildings?  Maybe, but that tax return is going to marginally cover that discussion.  You'd have to go after the banks and insist on more information.

4. The odds of schools across the nation starting up in August?  I would imagine that more than 50-percent will not open, or the parents will refuse to send the kids to school because of Covid-19.

So advancing in terms of education for the next school year?  Pretty much a marginal situation.

5.  Texas Division of Emergency Management....says that you ought to wear a mask, even in your home.

6. The problem with defunding and re-directing funding?  Well...it's the same thing.  It doesn't matter if Joe Biden said 're-directing' funding, it's the same thing as defunding in the end.

7.  This upcoming 'quickie' restaging of the NBA season?  Probably one of the most stupid ideas ever attempted by the NBA.  At some point yesterday, former NBAer Charles Barkley finally said the 5-star comment....that sports is becoming big 'woke-circus', with no real payback or gain for anyone.  Think about it....who pays $70 for a NFL seat to watch woke-NFL-football?  Who'd pay $50 for a NBA seat to watch NBA people pretending to care about the sport but more hyped up on wokeness?

8.  News story from Friday....some US Army General says that the 13 authorized four-star positions of the Army....aren't diverse enough (1 is black).  Here's the thing....somewhere around 20 years of service, most talented black officers (Lt Col/Col) are edging toward the commercial world because of opportunity and pay.  They move on, with their retirement pay, and reach a higher level of happiness. 

9.  That Hong Kong virologist who sneaked out?  Well, she's said a lot over the past day or two....saying that the government of China knew an awful lot....ahead of the game. 

The Problem With This On-Off Antifa Button

For about two months, I've sat almost daily and reviewed video of Antifa events/demonstrations.  It's mostly (say 90-percent) young white 'kids' (age 18 to 25).  The few blacks you see....are BLM-supporters.  Latinos?  Almost non-existent in the background video.

The behavioral level?  Intimidation, narcissistic, demanding, intolerant, lacking of both history and knowledge, and often displaying attitudes you'd expect out of a 8-year old kid.

So I look at the Biden campaign, and the Democratic Party....kinda wondering if they walk with confidence that there is a on-and-off button with Antifa. 

What if Joe Biden wins?  Can he walk in and suddenly hit the off-button, and make Antifa go away?

I have this suspicion that after eight months of activity....this off-button doesn't really exist anymore, and the overall plan of quieting down the 'kids' will have disappeared.

At some point in 2021....some folks will begin asking....if there ever was a off-button to Antifa, and some news journalists will wander around....trying to find such a button.  Reality will set in at that point. 

If We Dumped the Electoral College

You can go back to the mid-1800s, and find various people disgruntled over the way that the EC was functioning, and simply say nothing has changed over the years.

So if you dump the EC?  The election would be mostly about urbanized areas (Chicago, NY, Miami, Houston, Denver, SF, etc).  States like North Dakota or Idaho...wouldn't matter.

But if you were this crazy and foolish....why limit your change to only the EC?  Why not dump all fifty primaries in a two-week period....mid-June for example, force both parties to have a convention in early August, and just run the silly debate season (a year prior) to occur in May....two weeks prior to the election? 

The Worst of All Scenarios

Lets say on the morning of 4 November, we wake up and find that several unusual things happened on election day.  In this mix, at least three states are having trouble reaching a conclusion, mostly because of mail-in ballots.  The end can't be concluded, and Trump appears to have won only 27 of the 30 states that he won in 2016.  If the three states go to Biden?  Joe Biden then wins. 

Lawsuits start up.  It's not just at the state level....it's thrown at individual counties.  Neither candidate can reach 270. 

In mid-December....the Electoral College process would kick in (normally).  In this scenario, at least three states would have judges dellaying things, and unable to hold the vote. 

End-result?  No winner.  So you go to early January when the House and Senate come in, with new members. 

The House would be given the power to vote on the Presidency.  The problem here?  You vote state by state.  If you have nine house members from your state, and four are Democrat....then the five Republicans would edge out the vote and the state votes via the House mechanism for Trump. 

So it matters on this House election.  Presently?  This is an odd part of the story.  While Pelosi and Democrats hold a majority.....25 states are GOP-majority situations.  Penn is a 0-majority state, meaning it has no vote coming, then three Democratic states hold only a one-vote lead at this point. 

How the House election might go?  Imagine that two seats in Penn flip to the GOP, then imagine Colorado, Michigan, Arizona and even Minnesota flip enough seats, Trump would easily win via this mechanism.

But lets go to another scenario where nothing much changes, and Trump can't win 26 states via this mechanism.  As the end of the presidential period ends....the mechanism would then confirm the head of the House (likely to be a Republican) as President, and the Senate would then confirm the VP.  This would be done until a change in state by state voting occurs. 

A deeper crisis?  No doubt. 

You could very likely have a House Speaker turned President (Republican) with a VP who is a Democrat. 

Massive anger by both the Republican and Democratic voters?  No doubt.

But this ought to make you understand that the House election in November is just as important as the Presidential election. 

Just Observations

1.  Iron-clad rule....Marxists don't share power.  Their ultimate purpose is to eradicate all existing opposition.  If you think Nazis are evil....these people are just as bad.

2.  The thing about leaving the WHO.   In 1948, they were a noble idea and cause.  Maybe for the first thirty years, they had a purpose and positive path ahead.  Over the past twenty years?  They became unfocused....unable to touch various topics....and politicized.  Rather than go and recognize that problem....they felt intimidated and refused to consider change.

3.  I don't see the Washington Redskins staying in the DC area if the name goes to a change situation.  For DC, they pushed the wrong button here.  My prediction?  They end up moving to San Antonio, Texas or Oklahoma City.

4.  If you declared racism a mental disorder....would it change much of anything?

5.  The chief problem of the defund the police effort?  You end up with private security in a thousand ways that you never dreamed of, and have some 9th-grade drop-out named Larry who now seems to be the only real protection you have in your neighborhood.

6.  Could the NBA go through a woke-situation, where they realize that only 30-percent of fans care about their wokeness?  Would they then be woke-woke?

7. Just me, but I'd pay $75 to sit in a Presidential debate area where Joe Biden and Kanye West were in discussions. 

8.  Did Joe Biden say that the police have 'become the enemy'?  Yes, but if you asked him to define the enemy....he'd get on the subject of WW II movies and Nazis.  So don't bring it up.

9.  Senator Chuck Schumer linked to Jeffrey Epstein?  Yes, but it's best not to discuss this matter. 

10.  The FBI says HALF of all it's counter-intelligence cases....involve China. 

Just Observations

1.  Someone brought this up today....on smog/pollution checks with the yearly car inspection business.  In California, it's $85 and 25 minutes being hooked up to the machine.  In Tennessee, it's $8 and two minutes hooked up to the machine.  It's the same basic test, and I would dare anyone to show that there is any legit difference in the inspection of car A....if taken from one state to another.

2.  If you approach working-class democrats (the ones who pay taxes and work)....then tell them that you not only want to get rid of guns, but you want less police (defunding the police)....about fifty-percent of them will just start laughing.  They marginally might listen to the first argument, but the less police gimmick?  That merely pushes them to vote for Trump. 

3.  So, imagine this....a public housing complex in Melbourne, Australia.....tower-type building.  3,000 residents in the complex.  500 cops surrounding it.  No one enters....no one leaves.  Covid-19 situation, and the whole population of the building is on lock-down.  Testing is being conducted, but everyone is forced to participate for a five-day period of self-quarantine. 

4.  The key question that Trump will throw at Biden throughout the three debates?  Why do you hate America?  Over and over.  Joe will deny he hates America but he'll stumble through this theme, and each debate will be won by Trump....solely on the 'hate America' theme.  If you had brought up this discussion three years ago, most everyone would have laughed at the mere suggestion of 'hating America'.  Yet, here we are.

5.  It's an odd story that has developed over George Floyd (the dead black guy from Minneapolis).  One of the key parts of the story which is never discussed....the reason for the phone call to the cops from the store....was the $20 counterfeit bill.  No one seems to be asking anything about the bill or how Floyd came to have it.

Oddly, Floyd and this choker-policeman....worked at the same restaurant, for years.  So it gets brought up....this is a restaurant which is owned by a guy who originally came out of Jordan, and is known as a developer.  No one asks questions over the money for the developments though.    Some chatter has started up about the restaurant (El Nuevo Rodeo), and there is this belief that behind the operations....they had some type of money-laundering and counterfeit-money operation going on.

Floyd is choked to death on 25 May....a full month into the Corona period, and virtually everything is shutdown.  This $20 counterfeit bill?  It's probably some cash flow that Floyd stumbled upon and it's what paid his daily cost of living.  When the idiot cop arrives and stumbles upon the fact that it's Floyd (his associate)?  This whole path leading back to the restaurant comes up.  Whether it's thought out much, I think the cop couldn't let this counterfeit $20 start a massive investigation. 

The read, I would suggest?  Regional news source.  The problem I see....this restaurant and whole background....leads to various political characters from Minneapolis, and none of them want the 'rest' of the story told. 

6.  Chief Justice Roberts stumbles at home, and gets taken off to the hospital?  Cause?  The statement is....shortness of breath.  A bit odd, but maybe he was walking around with a mask on? 

My Thoughts on Ghislaine Maxwell

1.  No one in her position would remain in the US, in open sight like she did....unless she felt awful safe. 

2.  For the next two months....total silence on her case and what she is saying.

3.  Over the next two months, I expect around fifty significant suicides to occur, from Hollywood to London.  Bankers, actors, politicians, etc.

4.  Toward late September, the list of names will start to appear.  Some US Senators will be listed (some retiring this year, some already dead, some fairly embarrassed), from both Republican and Democratic sides.  Some bankers will suddenly retire after being listed.

5.  Suddenly the news cycle for the month of September to late October will be occupied over Maxwell.

6.   Maxwell will name five or six dead folks, who might have met an untimely end by an arranged situation.

The Two Plus Two Problem

"2+2 only equals 4 because of western imperialism.” 

- Brittany Marshall, Twitter comment

I sat and pondered over this comment for a good hour. 

The Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Hindus gave us math and science. 

If you walk into a real engineering class today (2020), and go over the basics of mathematical formulas.....a lot of these have been around for a minimum of 1,000 years....some on for 2,000 years, and a handful for 3,000 years.  The professor may not admit this.....but those silly Hindus spent a heck of a lot of effort to rationally conclude things. 

In math, if you mess around with two and two....it has to equal four, or there's something wrong. 

It's like a Ford brake specialist working on modern brakes, and x-amount of pressure will be applied, and on every single occasion.....x-pressure must go hand-in-hand with x-amount of reaction by the brakes.  If this doesn't occur....10,000 out of 10,000 times....then something is wrong.

So I look at Ms Marshall, and I have this feeling that she doesn't really know much on engineering, modern technology, or history.

The significant problem here is that people are walking around with no appreciation of what has occurred over the past 3,000-odd years.  The reason that you can fly from Dallas to NY City in three hours?  Well....10,000 different calculations occurred, between the control towers, the aircrews, the fuel people, and the design folks...to get that plane in the air and safely to the destination. 

The same is true with electrical voltage and the way that you can feel safe touching your washer....knowing that something won't happen and give you a blast of electricity.

The handling of a pistol?  Well, there's math and science built into it, and the safety-button meets various conditions.....involving a dozen-odd formulas.

Your dog being seen at the Vet?  Science calculations have occurred and the dog's weight equals x-amount of medication, which relieves them of pain and suffering.

The sanitation factor of your food?  Well, all that handling and cooking....relates back to science and math again.

The roasted aroma of your Starbucks coffee?  Science and math again working as they should.

So if you come to some conclusion that two and two can't equal four.....you might want to look for a bridge to live under, and start learning to exist off nuts, berries, and pond-water. 

Just Observations

1.  Kanye West running for President?   Yes....announced yesterday.  All fifty states?  He didn't exactly say that.  If I were guessing, he'd go to the 15 most black-populated states, and get onto the ballots there.  To be honest, in most states....you need to have a couple thousand folks sign you up, and that's probably the biggest stumbling block to his candidacy.

Does this matter?  He's intending to say he's the black candidate.  So if you were BLM, or pro-BLM....you'd have to vote for him.  Naturally, it takes votes away from Biden and the Democrats.

Will this change much of anything?  Black voter impacts are usually in the south, and Trump had those states locked down.  It's states like Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Virginia that I might wonder about.

Guessing the impact?  The McMuffin-character in 2016 took around 750k votes in 2016....so I'm guessing with some effort and a little bit of cash flow, West ought to take double that (1.5-million range).  Course, there is this question of California, and he might actually take a million votes there, and Trump might gain a million votes there (over 2016 numbers)....suddenly, California might be close to a Trump win.

2.  It's just curious....so many people angry and frustrated with America....that they don't pull out a map and pick some pleasant country to go to.

3. The strategy that BLM/Antifa and the path ahead is more about intimidation....than some national cohesiveness?  Walk into any middle-class neighborhood and explain this.....people start laughing.

4.  Does the black vote matter?  If you use the statistical data and say that a state with 20 percent of population is black (meaning a higher chance of influence), then there are only 8 states that meet that threshold.  Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.  Twenty-five states have a percentage of 10-percent or less....meaning their effect on the state vote is marginal.

5. My argument about peaceful protesters....if a 100 show up and 3 of them destroy things and set fire to cars, what does it say about the 97 who simply stand there and watch? Are they still peaceful, or are they intimidated to do nothing, or just don't care?

6.  As college starts up shortly....I'm just wondering how many assaults occur on Trump-kids, and legal problems ahead for colleges to defend. 

A Dental Story

Back in 2010, I arrived in Arlington, VA....and one of my lesser priorities as time went by....was to find a dentist.

Roughly ten months went by.  I had various problems.

Some local dentists said fine, but said I'd go on a six-month waiting list (by this, it meant I wasn't even getting to the cleaning 'date' yet).

One dentist wanted a fee of $500 to get on his 'list'.

So I finally found a dentist who only put me on a 60-day waiting list.  The odd thing was that it was in the basement of an apartment building about a mile from the Pentagon.

Fine, I show up on this appointment day.

First, it's a weird waiting room.....fashioned in something that looked 1960ish to me.

Second, the music in the room was violin stuff....like an opera-type situation.

So, it came time for him to check me....into waiting room X.  He spent barely 90 seconds and then left me to the 'lady'.

The cleaning lady was like some Russian-looking model gal to do the cleaning with a serious accent, which I identified to be Russian.

Six months pass, and I'm up for my next cleaning.....it's already on a schedule, and I show up.....here is another different Russian-looking model type to do the cleaning....same funny accent.

Another six months.....same deal again.

Another six months....same deal again.

Then I left.

The odds that he got 'tourist' visas for Russian dental technicians?  I never did ask about this, and it's best to just avoid that question. 

Seattle Accident

So in the early hours of Saturday morning....a couple of protest people made their way to the freeway in Seattle and tried to block traffic.  An oncoming car didn't see much (people in black, no reflective vests, no cones, etc)....so these two ladies were 'hit'.

I've watched the video at least twenty times.  I would guess the speed at near 45 mph.  Based on the view, I'd say that the driver had 3 seconds at best of reaction, trying to assess 'what the hell' this was in the road, and the two women were just naive to the situation they'd stepped into.

The 24-year old woman from Seattle?  She's in severe shape, and walking-wise, if she does make it....I'd be guessing physical rehab for most of the next year.  The second gal?  A 32-year old woman from Bellingham.  Her condition?  Less severe, but I'd be guessing a broke leg somewhere in the situation.  Both went into the air (maybe six to eight feet). 

What bothers me here....the level of stupidity.  You walk out on a freeway area....in the dark....in dark clothing....no vests or flares, and just think people will respect your protest thing.

The parents of both women?  I'm guessing the mayor or police haven't called yet, and things will just sit there in a slow movement.

The DA or city idiots trying to charge the driver?  On what?  It's simply juvenile bad behavior to stand in the middle of a freeway, and think people respect you or your protest, and can react to such a thing.

Revolution Poster

As the cops recovered in Portland, this poster was left up on the wall by the protest crowd.

So you read over this. The 'children' obviously wanted them (the police) to pass this to the FBI and be some new agenda item.

The problem with the 4-step plan for revolution....it's basically asking it's team (other kids) to vote for the Green Party in November.....NOT the Democratic Party.

Course, there could be FBI agents within the Antifa movement....feeding them BS like this, and hoping they take the bait to be pro-Green Party.

This all begs questions....how you'd run up a revolution, and take down the US government.....then assume everything will be better.

Seven Observations of the Remaining Political Season

1.  Looking back to September-October of 2019 and the fifteen-odd political choices of the Democratic Party....it would make a world of difference if Senator Warren or Bloomberg, or Mayor Pete had just been more competitive or believable to the general public.  Then at this point, we wouldn't be talking about Hunter Biden, the Ukraine episode, Joe's dementia, or Joe's behavior over the past thirty years.  It's like we were dealt some poker hand, and the best you can say is that you are holding a pair of 'fours', and three other guys are grinning in an excessive way.

2.  The NY Times is basically worthless at this point, and anything they say....people are generally skeptical about.  They have achieved the CNN 'standard'.

3.  Trump (having a billion of campaign funds) doesn't have to buy a single minute off any local station.  He'll fund 60-second commercials to be made, and flow out via social media.  General profits that stations would anticipate this time of year?  Probably half of the norm.

4. If you attempted to measure public enthusiasm.....a topless 30-second clip of Madonna would probably get more views than a 3-minute interview of Joe Biden.

5.  If your strategy was to use BLM to recover lost black votes....you might want to go back to the idiot who suggested this, and ask where they got this idea.

6.  If you notice now....thirty days after the defund chatter started up in Minneapolis.....just in the last 24 hours....local black leaders/ministers are now fairly critical of the defund or dis-establishment idea.  They do agree, they are better ways of policing but getting rid of the police isn't one of them.  All of this defund chatter makes an abrupt stop at non-urban communities. 

7.  Jobs are typically the ironclad magnet of votes in any US election.  No one can show any dynamic where Joe Biden's strategy is a continuation of the current jobs market.  That really says a lot when you think about. 

Just Observations

1.  If you go and read from local sources in Seattle over the two black kids shot up by Chop-police, you get this story.  Both teens (16-year old is dead, 14-year old is pretty badly wounded) were homeless and living in the camp next to Chop.  They stole (at knife-point) the Jeep from a Seattle resident.  Via a phone, they were communicating with some woman in the camp who told them it was 'unsafe' out there where the real police were....they should return to the camp with the vehicle.

Approaching the barriers of Chop....that's when the action started.  300 rounds of ammo (say the Seattle police, but I'm skeptical) were fired.  Driver dead, passenger still alive.  Chop police in the first 30 minutes proclaimed that they'd killed some fascists rushing their barrier.  Charges on the kid still alive?  Well....there's the problem of who held the knife when the stealing took place.  Charges on Chop-police?  No one says nothing.  BLM saying nothing?  Yeah....that's the amusing part of the story. 

2.  Just me saying this, but virtually every single white riot-juvenile seems like they stepped out of a house-trailer, without a bath over the past month, and seem to carry a smell (even if I'm watching this on TV).

3.  The amount of 'carrying-the-load' on the media for Joe Biden?  You just admire the thousand ways that they avoid talking about his dementia or finding marginalized questions to ask....without taxing his mind. 

4.  Someone yesterday made an observation about NY City.  In a 24-hour period...four folks died from Covid-19.  Nineteen folks died from gunshot wounds. 

5.  This discussion about making Juneteenth a national holiday (dumping Columbus Day)?  Well...ask yourself, in five years....the Latino folks will be the biggest minority in America.  Seeing two holidays for blacks, what do you think they will ask for?  Two holidays for Latinos.  Obviously 31 March (Cesar Chavez birthday) and Cinco de Mayo Day (5th of May).  Take guesses on which other days are given up to make room.  Oh, and those Indian guys and Asian women will eventually come around asking for their holidays as well.  And don't forget those American-Indians. 

6.  It won't be page one news in the US, but a drug-rehab center in Mexico had an attack occur....end-result?  Twenty-four people dead and seven wounded. 

7.  $266-million rolled into Trump's campaign chest for 2nd quarter of 2020.  At current pace, billion dollars is now conceivable.  Just makes you wonder how much would be required by the two candidates in 2024. 

8.  What's odd about BLM?  If you want to donate money...their 'device' is ActBlue.  Virtually all of the background groups that get money out of ActBlue....are Democratic Party candidates.  If you don't say in particular that the money has to go to BLM, then the money is shifted around to various other things (including the Yang election effort).  You would think that BLM would wise up....get their money-handling machine, and depart from the Democratic Party handling. 

The Thing About Misery Indexes

Back around 21 years ago....an Economist came up and developed something that he called a "Barro Misery Index".  This guy (Robert Barro) basically took the sum of current inflation, added the unemployment rate numbers....then tossed the current interest rate.   Then you would plus-up or minus down the shortafall/surplus.....with the current trend of the GDP growth.  This was the original way of doing a misery index.

Several folks came along after that (Steve Hanke is one example) to develop their own misery index.

When you first hear the term 'misery index'.....you tend to think of some guy living on the edge of life, in a house-trailer, marginally getting $1,500 after taxes are taken out, and mostly drinking cheap beer.  Then you compare that dude against some guy who makes $100,000 a year....lives in some urban dwelling with a high maintenance wife who spends $300 a week on fitness gurus....driving an imported BMW that requires a $300 oil change every six months, and going to some Tampa beach hotel every other month.  In my view of that misery index....the house-trailer dude might actually be less miserable than the $100k guy.

I worked with a guy once, who'd gotten seriously in debt from the first wife....owing almost $50,000 on various bills that she'd racked up, and the cost of a lawyer to arrange a divorce.  There wasn't a day that didn't pass at work where he would talk of his misery feelings, and his index was mostly maxed out.

I talk about this misery index business because you can see an awful lot of folks now in some degree of misery with the Coronavirus, the national trend, and stupidity via various state and local officials.  This frustration level is building.  I noticed some guy talking today of the impact on his Los Angles business, and how he'd finally reached a breaking point (he was going to terminate his business empire there and move out-of-state).

The trouble here is that an economist can write down ten things and just measure them for a established index.  In this case of Corona.....there are various things which you can't measure.

You could be living in Alabama, and be a '3' on miserable feelings....yet be fifty-percent happier than the guy in California.  That's the sad part of about misery.  Even living in some housetrailer, with a job at a truck-stop, your mother-in-law living in the trailer with you, and your dog suffering from worms....yet you might have a a great prospective on life and way above that poor guy in Riverside, California. 

The 'Darkness' Around a Anti-Fascist

Over the past couple of weeks, I've sat and listened to the commentary and viewed the actions of the anti-fascist crowd.  Several things have stood out:

1.  To be a true antifascist, you have to control or limit your friends or associates.  You hang out....with other antifascists.  You sit in the same classes....get into discussion-groups with like-minded people...and most all of your life is tied to a mission or purpose (saving the world from fascism).

2.  To be a true antifascist, you get up...eat your cereal or pancakes, and set your mind on purpose of being....defending the world from fascists.  It doesn't matter if they are in NY City, Detroit, Minneapolis, Philly, or Denver.  You go where the action is.

3.  Everywhere you look....fascism is harming society.  It's harming cultures, youth, livelihoods, health, democracy, and only struggles against evil fascism can resolve things.

4.  The antifascists are like some club now....appearing like DC's Legions of Tomorrow show.  Their hyped-up courage gives purpose and the feeling of being invincible.

5.  There is a piece out of Eric Hoffer's True Believer book, which talks to the idea of a "total surrender of a distinct self"....where you need to fit yourself into a group, crowd, or tribal organization.  This fits into the mass movement concept and you present the unified image of being against something (even if you marginally can say what that something is).

The world is unproductive and miserable, but by presenting the anti-fascist agenda....you can save it. 

6.  This antifascist is forever unsure of himself or herself.  They feel unaccomplished and apprehensive.  Today will end with participation in such-and-such effort or looting measure, with each member of the group trying to hype up the others that more work will be necessary for tomorrow.

7.  Finally, as time passes and reflection starts to set in....intolerance starts to be a daily topic on the mind of the antifascist.  Others in the group will suggest to be guarded against propaganda that would de-value the mind or effort.  Yet you look back at the childcare center you burned down with the group a month ago, or some coffee shop that you looted and destroyed....realizing later that owner just collected the insurance money and left town (the structure sits empty now).  You keep being told...don't worry, they all have insurance.  But you realize two months down the line that this section of town you destroyed....won't come back and rebuild. 

Intolerance starts to burn a hole in your soul. 

Then one day, you lose your enthusiasm for this antifascist business.  Saving mankind just doesn't seem to be something you'd like to participate in.  Some elements of shame show up....that you did some stupid things without thinking about the outcome. 

At this point, the darkness goes away. 

Just Observations

1.  I was sitting there this morning and observing street video (Seattle, NY, Portland, etc), and then it just kinda hit me.....it just seems a lot of this is 'copy' of Dark Knight Rises (the last Batman movie, with Bane as the enemy).  The violence....the lack of any respect....the public waiting on someone to come and clear the streets.

2.  Someone put up pictures of Minneapolis in the last day of two of the damaged/looted structures, and comparing it to some degree to the destruction around Bosnia after their little civil war.  A lot of Bosnians would agree that recovery didn't really start to show for an entire decade after the war ended.  One might suspect the same thing in Minneapolis.

3. I sat and read through a piece on LA's City Council approving (at least in draft form) the division of 'labor' for the police in the future.  So, for any situation that seems to be of a non-violent nature....a 'community responder' (social worker type) will arrive and handle the situation.

If it appears violent (one assume that the 9-1-1 operator will be the person making the guess)....then the police get the 'nod'.

The odds of a 50-percent of non-violent situations reaching a stage where violence is invoked?  That's a curious scenario to wonder about.  One has to assume that some type of uniform will handed out to the 'community responder' and some type of emblem or badge will be part of the deal.  This being a call involving a doped-up guy and 'community responder' suddenly dealing with violence in trying to handle the guy?

Just my view, but twelve months into this 'community responder' experiment, I think that half the folks will have resigned or moved on....indicating that this isn't the type of work that they imagined.  After two or three years of this....the council will admit that it was a successful-failure, and dump it.

4.  After this shooting a couple of days ago in Seattle of the two black teens in the Jeep (one dead, one seriously wounded)...there's 3 odd things that stand out.

- The Chop 'police' (not the Seattle police) say that there are reports of the teens shooting at Chop 'village' from the Jeep.  Then they suggest that the two teens robbed people while holding a knife.  You'd think about this, then ask....if they had a gun and were shooting....why bother with the knife?

- Then after the event, via PR going out via social media....they proclaimed the event a great positive situation against fascism.  Yes, the two black teenagers were apparently fascists. From the one teen still alive....if you asked about being a fascist....he'd start off the conversation and ask what the hell is a fascist?

- While all of this goes on, with one dead black teen....BLM at the site does nothing.  You'd expect them as a minimum to burn down the Chop area, but they stand there in the background....like a landscape to some painting.

5.  The judge in this George Floyd case with the four cops up for serious charges?  Well, this week, he's now said that he's leaning toward moving the case.

My humble guess is that next five most populated cities (with mayors and city councils attached) in the state are worried.  They don't want it either.  Any city that he selects....will probably try to use the court system and remove their city from consideration.

Odds of Minnesota National Guardsmen called out to protect this town (when chosen)?  I'd give a 99-percent chance.

6.  Another poll now says that of the 38-percent of Americans who believe that Joe Biden has dementia....they can now show via the polling on people with this opinion, almost one out of five are Democrats.

That's a worrisome trend.  The one thing you don't need is three debates to occur with Trump and Biden, and another twenty-percent of Democrats agree....making this a screwed up campaign.

7.  Delta Airlines says that they will ask you....presumably at the check-in counter, about your Coronavirus status.  If you lie?  Well, this could get you on some permanent forbidden to fly Delta situation.  If you tell the truth but come up days later with the virus?  No one really says much how they will handle this.

It just makes you ponder upon any travel and settle upon driving to your destination.

8.  Netflix is making a six-part series about the youth years of Colin Kaepernick.  No, it won't go up to the NFL years.  It's hard to imagine the entertainment value, or just historical landscape.  One aspect they probably will skip....his real 'talent' throughout high school was baseball (as a pitcher).  He was offered various scholarship deals to play baseball.

The only college to offer a football scholarship?  University of Nevada-Reno.  A football powerhouse?  No.  You can't even rank them in the top one-hundred college teams over the past twenty years.  With maybe one or two exceptions, the bulk of their schedule are similar teams.

Did he screw up by selecting football over baseball?  Yes, there's no doubt.  He'd probably still be in MLB today, approaching age 33, and on a $15-million a year contract with some team as a number one or two starting pitcher.

9. Yesterday, Joe Biden did a decent press conference.  So at some point, he says that he is “constantly tested” for cognitive decline.

Constantly?  He didn't go into detail, but it just makes you wonder....are they now testing him once or twice a month?  Why word this in such a way?  Or did he mean constant testing with Covid-19?

It was at the very least....a stupid comment to make.  But again, he's Joe Biden and throughout his entire career....he's averaged probably a thousand stupid comments a year, and you just have to bear with Joe's way of explaining things.

10.  It doesn't make any sense.  Riot 'kids' (juveniles) go and make videos of their rampage, and flip it as a show of their fake-courage.  So the authorities get the stupid video off social media....review it....and get images to post on some 'wanted poster'.

'Randy' and 'Molly' get this gaggle of police at their doorstep a month later....they want to speak to 'Junior'.  They got an arrest warrant.

The lawyer gets a call, and he looks at everything and then asks the parents....is your kid that stupid to make a video of himself damaging a building or looting, and think that the police aren't going to view the same video?  Its incredible stupidity.