Weapons Story

This morning....I read a piece saying that for 2021.....there were 5.4 million first-time gun buyers across the US.

The real shocker?  One-third of them were women.

No one said much about the states and how the numbers divide up....but I would guess the bulk of the women were from southern states.

What the women bought?  Anyone's guess.  

Observations

 1.  WaPo wrote some piece to ask the question....'just how many Covid deaths would we be OK with'.  

I'd like to see more journalism like this.  Ask the question 'just how many corrupt politicians are we OK with', or 'just how many left-leaning journalists are we OK with', or 'just how many dimwit Hollywood types are we fond of', or 'just how crapped-up is the NFL at this point', or 'just how bad is the NCAA bowl process', or 'just how stupid are high school kids upon graduation', or 'just how many elements of the Baltimore city government are corrupted'.  

Me personally.....if you have been living a pretty unhealthy lifestyle (two-pack a day smoker, meth-user, serious deficiency in vitamin D for past 30 years of life, half-a-bottle of whisky perday, greasy/fatty food diet)....then your death won't be that disturbing to me.  

2.  Newt Gringrich says that the 6 Jan committee from the House, with AG Garland.....could be brought up in a January 2023 House committee (Republican-run) and face federal charges, with jail-time possible for various members/Garland.  

Five years ago, I would have laughed over this idea.  Presently?  I'd say that civil rights might be abused in various ways, and some of these House members may think they can walk away in January 2023 without being dragged into court.  

3.  Some new poll says Joe Biden has dropped 30 points in the past six month among black voters.  The DNC may have significant worries building up over the mid-terms....that reach further than House/Senate situations.....it might affect internal state politics in various states (hint: Georgia).

4.  Just how much is Avenatti is accused of stealing from Stormy Daniels?

Well....$300k.  In this case in court.....does he even have the money to pay Daniels back?  I'd strongly say 'no'.....unless he has the money hid somewhere.  So this is a wasted court case?  More or less.  

5.  White House saying that in the event of an invasion of the Ukraine....there will be NO airlift to get American civilians out.  Repeat of Afghanistan?  Yeah.

I would say this....no one knows the number of Americans in the Ukraine (the size of Texas), but I would take a wild guess it's upwards to 5,000....most of which are businessmen.  

If you gaze at a map....to the far east of the Ukraine....lies the Dnieper River.  I think there's zero chance that the Russians intend to cross that river, and their primary aim is just this far SE chunk of land along the coast.  

So this idea of an evacuation being necessary?  Pretty near zero, if you ask me.

6.  Are the 'Patriot Front' or militia groups real?

In the past six months....a number of people have begun to look at the make-up of these right-wing groups, and suggest that they exist in some real 'world' but there are probably some FBI undercover or 'front-men' in the various fronts.  It may be the same way for the BLM people....the Antifa folks, etc.  

Just for the record, if you didn't know it.....Adolph Hitler was hired by the Bavarian Secret Police after WW I....to spy on a new political organization forming in Munich....called the Nationalist Socialist Party (NAZIs).  All he was supposed to was attend meetings and report back to the Secret Police 'bosses'.  Things got kinda crapped up and he took the NAZIs to the next level of operation.  

Ten Things I'd Like See Done on TV

 1.  Every year....at least one-hundred to two-hundred 'pilots' are done, and 98-percent fail.  I'd like to see some network go and pull out a hundred of these failures (since 1960), and go rework the failed pilot in this modern era.  New review, new actors, new strategy. 

2.  I'd like to see some pioneer reality series called 1888, where you put four modern families in a 1888 landscape for six months.  You have to wear the authentic clothing....shop at the general store....sleep in a marginally heated cabin, and entertain at the 1888 level.

3.  I'd like to see a Ernest Hemingway comedy set up in Key West....1928-period.  A bar, some intellectual guests coming and going, and alcohol flowing while illegal.  

4.  I'd like to see a 20-something-year-old junior reporter given one question, and sent out each week to ask that question of regular people, for a 30-minute show.  We might learn what real people think.

5.  I'd like to see a network created called 1930s-1940s, where only movies of that era are shown.  Maybe around 7 PM....run a 30 newscast of that day in 1936, or 1946.....done in B/W of course, reading off a WaPo or NY Times articles.

6.  I'd like to see a reality show where some urban family is sent to a highly rural area for six months, and a very rural family is sent off to NY City for the same period.  Talk about shock for 30 minutes each week.

7.  Create a 20-episode series to talk about the twenty biggest scandals of the 1900 to 1920 era.  Two-hour pieces, with historians explaining in detail how each incident started and ended.  

8.  Do a six-hour mini-series on how an American was drafted in 1917, and sent off to France.

9.  Recreate Sanford and Son, with Jamie Foxx playing Fred.  Give Fred a chance to reflect and be serious once in a while showing his wit.

10.  Do a five-hour mini-documentary piece on the 1927 Yankees.  

Biden, 60-Percent and 2024

 Someone did a poll....asking people if they'd vote for Joe Biden in 2024.  60-percent said 'NO'.  

What happens between now and 2024?  I expect more problems to emerge....perhaps a 2023 impeachment event (maybe even a second attempt if the first fails by the end of the year).  This 60-percent 'NO' group will expand by the end of 2022 to around 75-percent (my humble take on this).

But here's the problem.  If you were the top three Democratic contenders in the spring of 2024 for the primary run.....do you disavow everything Joe pushed, or double-up?  

Are you going to say Joe wasn't progressive enough or extreme enough?  Or will you contend that Joe Biden was wildly all over the place....with wild ideas that wouldn't get enough House/Senate support?

I can see various problems here....taking a campaign up and trying to say 'I'm-better-than-Joe-Biden' but more extreme.

I noticed this past week....someone made a analytical comment that the list of typical 'outstanding' Democratic governors who might be nomination-capable....are exceptionally weak.  If you go and look at the House/Senate....there's probably three or four people who I would give a fair chance to.  The odds that you might have a nobody appear out of thin air?  Someone like Ms. Obama or Oprah?  Well...I'd say at this point, it's a 50-50 chance.  

All of this in November to reshape the House/Senate?  Yes, without any doubt.

Two Observations

 Over the past week, I watched 'American Made' (2017) for the first time, and binge-watched the 4th season (just out) of Ozark.

I have to admit...American Made is fairly interesting.  True story?  Well....it led you down to this path and begged questions by the end.  So I spent an hour after the movie ended....reviewing the actual history.

To be honest, there's around twenty things that occur in the movie....which have no relationship to reality.  I eventually came to a point....asking why bother making something like this and hinting that it's based on true events.

On the 4th season of Ozark?  Well....they released around two-thirds of the season, and the rest come in three or four months.  It is the final bit of the series, and the shocker for me....while there was an awful lot of killing throughout season one, two and three.....just about everyone that is alive at the beginning of season four.....by episode six of the new season....is either dead or in prison.  

Yes, if you had any favorite characters at the end of season three, you probably are fairly disappointed in how the series is going.  

I'm not condemning Ozark (easily compared to the Sopranos).  I'm just saying that they are running out of characters.  

What's The Difference Between Strongly-Approve and Strongly-Disapprove?

Some folks did a review of President Biden and asked in a poll.....how many strongly approve of his performance, and strongly disapprove.

Strongly approve?  20-percent.

Strongly disapprove?  47-percent.

The rest are in the middle....either with no opinion, marginally approve, or marginally approve....which amounts to 33-percent.

In most countries, with coalition governments....there would be fallout going on, and a likely collapse of the coalition situation.....meaning a new election within 90 days.  Luckily in the US....we can just keep going, and likely escalating the negativity even more.

In this case....only one out of every five really feel confident in the actions of President Biden and the achievements of the past year.  In some ways, this is a super positive thing....that these people can overlook mistakes or issues and just accept the current trends.  

Is part of this trend the issue that fewer people watch CNN than ever before?  Well....yes, that probably is one of the ten different issues going on and part of the negative landscape.  If we could just find ways to force people into viewing CNN more often....this could be a great idea for the Biden-team.

The fact that Joe promised a lot in 2020, and has yet to really deliver?  Well.....yeah, that is probably another big issue.

Any chances this will reverse in 2022?  That's really a big part of the situation....people can't expect much to improve.

Time Cover

 

The newest issue of Time came out.  

I sat for three minutes looking at it.  It's not a flattering 'painting' of President Biden and the 'fog' at the top of the cover is meant to convey something.

The people disheartened by this?  Probably the folks who work in the inner-circle or within the cabinet functions.  They have to know the crap thats going on, and probably have some stamina to handle x-amount of the situation....then announce they are leaving.