What I'd Change on the Supreme Court

 Over the past month, I've reflected a good bit over the Supreme Court and think it's probably time to make some changes.  My four:

1.  Once 'elected' to the position on the court, it's for a 10-year term, and then you retire, period.  Lifetime appointments come to end.  

2.  Maximum age upon appointment?  Sixty.  To be precise....60 years and 364 days of age upon nomination.  

3.  A total of ten members on the court, with one person always held as a reserve judge.

4.  Upon death or retirement, an absolute understanding that the seat will be filled within 60 days.  The 'reserve' member would ensure a nine-member court is always in the game-plan.  The President will nominate someone within seven days of the death/retirement.  The Senate must meet within 14 days to start the process (with some Xmas/Thanksgiving exemption).  

Urban View

 In the past, I've worked with people who lived most of their lives as kids in major urban centers (Philly, Chicago, NY City), and they would make the comment that they couldn't live in a city of less than 500k residents.  

I worked with a contractor at Ramstein, who arrived and became fairly disenchanted with the local town (K-town) because it just wasn't that 'big' (100k residents)....that it lacked cultural events....that it didn't have much of anything to do. 

I've always been at the other end of the spectrum....living around a small area of 300 residents is mighty fine, and just as interesting as the enchanted cities of Seattle or Dallas.  

I've felt that way as I travel across Europe.  There might be some pluses in cities like Rome, Den Haag, or Munich. But the smaller towns have character and charm as well.  

Lately, with all the chaos focused on cities like NY, Minneapolis, Seattle or Portland....I see less and less reasons to be urban-charmed.  You give up some element of safety and security, without anything to be gained.  

An end-point?  No.

Signatures

 I noticed today....federal judge got into the middle of a mail-in-vote situation....where a state had a rule, if your mail-in-vote papers arrive, and it doesn't match the signature on file....it was NOT accepted.  Judge said 'no'....you can't do that.

I sat and pondered over that.

From August of 1977 to now....I've probably signed around sixty-thousand signatures.  Just in Air Force boot-camp (six weeks)....I would estimate that I signed my signature at least four-hundred times.

I signed the meal rooster three times a day.  Every occasion that they gave me something....even a hat....I had to sign for it.  The eight-hour pass into San Antonio?  You had to sign for it.  The weeks after boot-camp in Wichita Falls?  You had to sign into the class each morning, plus the three meals of the day, and if there were any documents created....you had to sign them.  

The stupid AF form 341?  The disciplinary form for screwing up?  It had a nice block at the bottom where Sarge had to sign....with his explanation on how you screwed up.

On a daily basis, from the 1990 era to 2013....I probably signed at least ten times a day, and on some occasions....it probably went near sixty times in a single day.

Even now in retired status?  Whenever the FEDEX guy comes by....I have to sign for those stupid packages.  

So if you went back and analyzed all sixty-thousand....would there be much difference?  Somewhere in the early 1980s.....I developed one single change on a letter.  Other than that....it's the same signature for sixty-thousand occasions.  

I'm not really buying into the judge's order or his sense into this.  Either the signature is the same one on file....or it's not.  If there is some conflict....call the call up on the number listed for his home, and ask him to show up and sign once again.  If it doesn't match to what is on the envelop....call the cops and report the guy for fraud. 

Observations

 1.  Maybe you know this....maybe not.  On Roe versus Wade (1973)....which liberals often want to hype up.....only went in this direction because three Republicans on the bench crossed over and agree with four liberal judges.  Shocker?  Just something to think about.

2.  This whole riot business in Philly?  All based on a black guy who'd had mental issues for most of his life.  How'd the police get called?  An older member of the family was in fear of her life.  

The comment that police need to be trained to react correctly?  I'd suggest that they just drive up....lock the doors to their car and use the speaker to get his attention to come out.  If he kills the relative?  At least the guy is still alive, and the police are alive.

Here's the thing you need to think about....there's probably over 500 people in Philly who are crazy-crazy, and ought to be locked in a facility.  All it takes is one good argument to set them off......with the cops pulling up and another incident starting up.  

3.  Postal clerk getting federal felony charges for messing around with 100-plus absentee ballots.  Real jail....probably more than ten years.  

4.  Hunter Biden, in five years?  I see him basically broke, and begging Dad for an allowance of $10k a month to survive.  

Calling Oregon a Trump-Win State

 Normally, Oregon would go to the Democrats....in most all elections of the past fifty years.  I think it's close enough in reality now....to be a Trump-win.

Observations:

In 2016, Trump carried 782k votes (39-percent of the vote).  Libertarian candidate Johnson?  He took 4.7 percent (94k votes).  Johnson is around in this election, and the Libertarian candidate isn't attracting that much attention.  So I would suggest 50k votes going from this group in 2020, to Trump.

Added to it....around the five major urban areas of the state....this defund the police effort, rioting, looting....has escalated local feelings in a negative way.  So I'm forecasting roughly 120k of Hillary's 1-million votes in 2016....will go to Trump.

Finally, when you go and count the Latino and black vote in the state.....which the vast number in 2016 went to Clinton....I would suggest that near 20k of such votes this time around....will go to Trump.

By my math....190k votes flipping to Trump.  The unknown factor?  How many democrats got sour and left for the Republicans in the past year or two?  Difference without knowing this number between Trump and Biden....probably a difference of only 3k to 5k.  Biden might still win, but this unknown factor of Democrats who left the party is what would make it a Trump-win.  

Shocker?  At the end of this evening, if Trump were to win Oregon....it's be a massive state of disbelief among far-left folks in the state, and likely to trigger more riots in Portland (once again).  

Camp Idea

 Over the past couple of years, I've come to note a number of young people (mostly college-age or in their early 30s)....jabbering about the great advantages of living a highly socialist world.  They usually mean Finland, Germany or Iceland.  

Their general problem, is that they've never been to these places, and they certainly don't have a frame of reference for what they are talking about.

Added to this....they'd like for the government to set income levels, pricing for housing, and see that that no company makes any profit.  In simple terms....no poor people, no rich people. 

So I'd like to put a suggestion out there....around age 15....to send kids off for the summer to 'Camp Soviet'.  It'd be a four-week experience where you get dumped into a 1970s Soviet-type kid's camp.  You give them the whole experience of communism and socialism, for four weeks.  

I suspect after that month-long experience....they'd get all of this out of their system, and never talk about this ever again.  

The Coyote Talk

 There are several topics which came over the Trump-Biden debate which seem to linger as folks talk about them.

The 'Coyotes' are one such topic.

Trump got into a border-type discussion, and talked about how 'Coyotes' are helping to bring the illegals over the border, and pro-migration folks (liberals) are drifting around on this....thinking Trump is crazy, and the term 'Coyotes' means actual animals.  

In their mind, you (the illegal) just walk up and cross the border on your own.

The reality?  In most all cases, as you near the border on the Mexican side....you have the Coyote-guides who you pay.....several hundred dollars to....to get you to the border and hopefully five to ten miles into the US....maybe even have a truck there to pick you and get you 300 miles away into the US (safely).

In the liberal mind, you (the illegal) do this all on your own.

It kinda demonstrates the lack of understanding on  their part.....with a key subject apparently, and the desire to just believe in some fantasy.  

On this part, Trump is correct.