What About the 40-Percent?

A poll was done and it came out that sixty-percent of Americans think they are better off now, than a year ago.  So, the question arises.....what about the other 40-percent.

I sat and pondered over this.  What about the other 40-percent or 120-million?

Well....first, if you live in L A, SF, Seattle, or Portland....you'd naturally have conflicting issues with homeless folks, crime, and druggies.....so you would admit things were not better off now.

Second, if you live in NY City, and you were anticipating that Amazon would be advertising all those jobs.....you were screwed royally and things aren't better.

Third, if you work for CNN or MSNBC....it's pretty good odds that you haven't seen a pay-raise, or a promotion, and probably won't see anything marvelous for the next five years.

Fourth, if you were Hillary Clinton.....you still bare a grudge and certainly nothing has improved since 2016.

Fifth, if you were part of the insider crew who were supposed to take the President down by now.....well....you failed....miserably, and 2020 doesn't look that good for you.

Sixth, if you were some stupid teenage idiot back in 2002, and borrowed in the range of $80,000 for your stupid college degree, yeah....you are probably still in debt, and still looking at another three years before it's all paid off.

Seventh, if you lowered yourself into a debt pit over five credit cards and achieved almost $60,000 in debt.....yeah, you are still in serious debt and nothing much has improved over the past decade, and probably won't improve much in the next decade.

Eighth, if you sunk $40,000 into a pontoon boat four years ago, and find it's not used more than four Saturdays per year, and the value has dropped to around $20,000....yep, your life hasn't improved much either.

Ninth, if your wife threw $7,000 in a boob-job last year, and ran off with the Maytag repair guy last week, the odds are that your life hasn't improved much.

Tenth and final.....you do roughly $10,000 worth of meth per year and have been doing that much for six years, it's a pretty sure bet that your life hasn't improved much, and it's a pretty sure bet you will be dead within the next decade.

Nancy's Chat

It's not front-page news and barely gets onto page four.....but on Tuesday of this week....House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a meeting with a top Obama economics adviser.

The topic of discussion?  Pelosi wants details on how to explain to Democrats (and likely Republicans as well)....on why the economy REALLY ISN'T as strong as Trump says, and then how to message or brand this to voters.

So you sit there and ponder upon this.

It would be like going up to some farmer who has personally counted 200 head of cattle on his farm yesterday, and then you trying convince him today that there are only 120 head of cattle.  Then the farmer might respond that the only way that he's lost 80 head...is that someone cut a hole in the fence, and the cattle escaped off into the night.

I suspect that the economist will sit there and marvel Pelosi with various facts and numbers....that in various California regions....the economy has swiveled up and done poorly.  Then he'll mention NY City's loss of Amazon.  But none of this will really provoke a message that you'd want to give Democratic voters.

So my advice to Nancy:  Go forth and suggest the economy is marginal, and then offer up tax breaks for the regular-working-class people.  Offer tax breaks to companies who hire new positioned people.  Bring in deregulation.  Stomp down on foreign countries that 'dump' products on US markets. 

Yes, out-Trump Trump.  That's the ticket.

The odds of this reality occurring?  Zero.  But it'd interesting to hear the guy explain to Nancy that there's stuff going on that hasn't been seen since the 1950s. 

Nancy could do advertisements.....some loser kid sitting in a basement....a 4-year degree in his pocket in French literature, and nowhere to market the degree.  Some loser on a San Francisco street....living in a tent....talking about his paranoid schizophrenia and inability to work  Some loser in a Detroit suburb talking over his customer base dissolving, and business in serious trouble....but avoiding the discussion that he mostly sells crack or marijuana. 

No one says much what occurred after the meeting, but I would guess that Nancy opened up a bottle of gin, and had several cocktails by 2 PM.  It's going to be a long, long campaign for 2020. 

Mayor Pete's Statement

About two days ago.....Mayor Pete (Pete Buttigieg) made a statement that parents can’t explain Trump to their kids.  He meant this in a way that suggested nine-year-old kids were curious over the election, Trump, and that there just wasn't a way to explain Trump.

I sat and pondered upon this.

Most nine-year-old kids that I've known.....would have come up with significant questions...but having next to nothing to do with politics:

1.  Did Iron-Man really die at the end of Endgame?

2.  Why is cousin Wanda such a slut?

3.  Why can't you make a zero-calorie hamburger?

4.  Why don't the kids on SouthPark ever age?

I just don't see kids coming up to Dad or Uncle Barney....asking about Trump.  They might ask why Mom is so torn-up or frustrated with President Trump, and Dad accidentally says that she's a socialist, and then the kid asks Dad to explain socialism.  That would be a serious mistake.

But what would happen if 'Johnny Junior' suddenly got peppy and pro-Trump....around Mom who was anti-Trump?  Would Mom be able to handle this or would she got nuts with Johnny Junior?  Would Johnny Junior have to move out or resettle with other relatives?

I'm just shaking my head because this is some type of alien landscape that makes no sense....that you'd be so fired up over politics, and unable to handle any other scenario.  You have to wonder.....come 2024, what happens if another Trump-like character appears?  Could these people handle another eight more years of this business?

It all used to be simple, with nine-year-old kids asking if Higgins was really Robin Masters, on Magnum P I or if the Power Rangers really did all die in a plane crash over Arkansas like their cousin Marvin suggested. 

Impeachment 2.0?

I read in the last hour that President Trump said that the Coronavirus will go away as spring arrives, because it can't multiply in warm weather.  Apparently folks are very peeved about the comment.

Can we fix up another fake impeachment charge on this...Coronavirus chatter?

Although I'm worried.....as we bring in witnesses for the House folks.....they might infect everyone, and trigger an outbreak among House members. 

Discussion Over Views

“These people are so driven mad, they actually think they are morally superior to those that have a different point of view."

- Nigel Farage

Farage came over the US and was at George Mason University to give a talk to a group of students.  At some point, a hyped-up college kid went into heckling-mood, and was eventually shown the door out.  Farage actually tried to calm the fellow down, and asked him to let him continue his discussion, and ask pointed questions at the end.  The kid couldn't handle that, and left.

In some ways, I think a whole segment of society has paid some kind of money down on a college education, and believe that they are morally superior at the conclusion of one single semester. 

They isolate themselves, and fear indoctrination from other students or outside influences will ruin the fine moral beliefs that they have.  One can look at this and summarize that their positions must be awful weak....if they can't sit still for sixty minutes and hear an opposing viewpoint.

I've made up a phrase to cover this thought process.....the 'Teletubbie' effect.  Basically, as long as your little sphere is enlightened by Tinky, Dipsy, Po and Laa-Laa....things are fine.  Once you bring a fifth character into the room....your sphere is cracked or challenged. 

In some ways, you even know that the four characters are marginal, and without strong bonds or marginally intellectually sustainable.  Then you go and do something real stupid....you attend such a meeting where the 5th character is there and chatting....without any reference to your typical bedrock (Tinky, Dipsy, Po and Laa-Laa). 

Your heart will be racing, and your mind feels like it's on fire....your inner strength is being harmed, and you lash out at the 5th character.  It's their fault.....they should have stayed within the lines of 'Teletubbie' crew. 

This all presents a challenge because so many people have lost sight of reality and are living in this 'bubble'. 

Four Things About the Campaign at This Point

1.  Maybe it's just me, but I got this feeling that almost all of the inner circle of Joe Biden.....is 70-plus years old, drink Dr. Pepper, and watch Gunsmoke.

2.  This 'Pete-kid' doesn't seem to have done much in life.  So it makes me wonder....if he wins, and does eight years....he'll be 48 years old at the conclusion.  What exactly do you do for the remainder of your life?

3.  I heard the Pope say that the 'rich' must end world poverty.  So once you soaked all of them, and took 90-percent of their wealth.....then flipped it to dirt-poor people, and five years later....admit that the rate is poverty is still pretty much the same....what 'magic' do you do then?  Try to exorcise the poverty demons with some chant?

4.  Could the ultimate Russian 'game' be to reach the convention, have no clear winner, and then convince them to hire up Hillary once again? 

Gingerberg

This afternoon, I sat and watched some 30 second Bloomberg for President ad....which had Trump up for the SoTU speech, and some Gingerbread man on his shoulder.

I ran this 'cartoon' four times......then frankly sat there.

I did feel kinda hungry.....like I'd like to have a Gingerbread man to eat, but I didn't get the jest of this.

Was this to convince me to be hungry or be anti-Trump?

Really?  A gingerbread man?

If this idiot paid $250,000 for some graphic design team to make up this Gingerbread man cartoon.....there's some problem with adult leadership on the Bloomberg team, and for 'Ginger'-berg himself.