Harris Quote

 "Electricity from wind and solar farms in the Arizona desert will be delivered to people MILLIONS of miles away."

-- VP Harris yesterday

I pondered over this. 

From San Diego to NY City, is 2,760 miles. So to reach millions (plural, assuming 2-million)....it'd be 750-odd trips between San Diego to NY City (one-way trips) to get electricity from 'X' to 'Y'.

Maybe in her mind, this was a 3rd-grade moment where you were shipping something 'contained' from point 'A' to point 'B'.

But then I considered...if you were in the powerline business.....a million miles of line would be something of amazement.  

Maybe Harris just starts each day like this....learning something new and preaching about it....as if you were as limited as she was....in terms of knowledge.  

My View On The Fulton County Rico-Court Deal With Trump?

First, if you run a RICO-type charges....it becomes a very demanding case, where successful operations have recorded undercover operations.  Maybe the county police did stuff like this but I would have doubts.

Second, once you have a room with 19 people under indictment....it's a circus operation and there are a very small number of judges who have this ability to handle the prosecution and the defense.  In the whole state of Georgia, I don't think you will find a single judge who has done something like this....at the state or county-level.

Third, Prosecution staffing to run this situation?   County DA has to be begging a ton of money from the county commission to cover expenses.  This is not a simple half-million dollar episode.  I would be guessing to get up to first week....they will have spent one to two million.  

Fourth, Length?  If the Prosecutor goes on....with 19 accused and all in court at the same time?   I could see this going, with interruptions....maybe six months....maybe even nine months.  Cost level then?  Way beyond $25-million with extra police manhours somewhere in the mix.  Appeals process, if anyone was convicted?  There's potentially another five to ten million.....to reach the Supreme Court.  County having that kind of money to throw around?  I doubt.

Fifth, what the prosecutor is counting on?  Anywhere from five to ten of the accused going for a 'deal'.  If no one goes for a deal.....it's a problem.

Sixth, I sat and looked over the resume that exists for the County DA.  I don't see a person sitting there with the broad experience for RICO court action.  Does she have a high-priced adviser to the county providing service....if so, who?  

Seventh, while the judge might think they are talented enough for the demands....there's probably 15 defense attorneys there with the same level of expertise....if not more.  

Eighth and final....if they reach the end, and no one is convicted?  Well.....the county is out for about $25-million minimum (probably more).  It's a lot of money that could have been used for parks, pot-holes, or library action.

Then, this odd thing.....if broadcasted over TV and coming to a failure in the end?  You really don't want to face county voters in November of 2024.  

Risk-factor?  If no conviction....the prosecutor is probably finished in terms of a political career.    

How Germans Handle Voter Registration

 First, just in general, within 30 days after you move into x-house....you have to appear at the local city hall and note your address. In recent years, they even noted that you have to appear at the OLD city hall and note that you no longer reside in that town or village.

This new registration?  It can only occur as you present your national ID card.

So as they register for living purposes (tax purposes as well).....you are automatically on the voting list for that village/town.

You never go back to renew yourself.....unless you move or die.  

Election day coming up?  You get a letter to this address....stating where the voting station is located, that you must bring the letter, and your national ID card.  The election will be on a Sunday.  

If you are gone on that day (vacation)....then you could stop by the city hall and get a ballot before you leave.....filling it out, and hand it to the city clerk for the holding box.  

Odds of a screwed-up election?  Up until 2021....I would say zero chance.  In Berlin (the city).....things got screwed up for three reasons, and they were forced to re-accomplish the election. 

People complaining about mandates and regulations over registration?  Strangely enough....no. 

My 'Combat' Story

 Back around 15 years ago, I was working at a Air Force (contractor work) where we had a four-star general who was a bit 'nuts'.  On a weekly basis, he was ordering odd things to occur.

So one day.....he ordered the Air Force PR folks to make a commercial for AFN (Armed Force Network).  

The general had several programs which revolved around the use of the word 'combat'.  It wasn't real combat crap (like you Marines would suggest)....this was more of a program, and attached 'combat' to it.

About a month after these commercials came out....I talked to two Army E3 types (living in the barracks).

The commercials had liberal use of the word 'combat'.....the Army guys had invented a nightly game, where if this Air Force commercial came on.....you had to sip a shot of booze.  

I asked....apparently they'd seen all six commercials....just how many could one single commercial trigger you to drink?  One guy cited the worst one.....30 seconds long....five utterances of 'combat'.  That meant five shots.  The least one was three utterances....three shots.

The problem was....there might be a one-hour show, and five of these commercials to come up....maybe two in a row.  

They both grinned and admitted that was an ongoing problem. 

Adding to this....you might go through a whole bottle by yourself...in one single night.  

On the day that the general left.....the commercials halted (almost overnight).  I would imagine that booze issues dwindled after this.

Binge-Viewing 'Rookie'

 Over the past month, I've binge-watched about 40 episodes of the 'Rookie' (the cop show).  Humble thoughts?

1.  It's like Adam-12, except on steroids'.

2.  I'd say per episode.....there's at least one-hundred rounds of ammo fired, and about 95-percent of time....no one ever gets hit by the bullets.

3.  I've come to the frame of mind that I would never step foot in LA ever again after watching this show.

4.  Virtually every single fed LE character guy.....is either an idiot or can't be trusted.

5.  I would guess at least three police cars are shot-up completely for each show....leaving me to wonder if this the norm in real  life.

6. You almost never see any officer eating a donut.

7.  The more that the show develops....it's more of a soap opera than a cop show.

8.  I sat and watched the one episode where a rookie-cop character got a 'whiff' of cocaine, and suddenly wanted to show his intelligence and visionary insight.....to which it just suddenly hit me....the 'act' given is exactly how VP Harris acts.....when giving these 200-word sentences that make no sense.  Just odd, I guess.  

9.  On my scale of decent modern-day shows....I actually give a decent score on story-text and characters.

My Shortcut Story

 One year, my German wife made a big deal about wanting to drive down to the Garda  Sea. This was before GPS came along.

I agreed.  I was the driver for about 98-percent of this trip.  So I drew out Germany to the Garda Sea hotel map.

There was a critical junction in Milan....a HARD left.  It was a sort of shortcut. 

About 3 miles prior to this....entering the city, I cautioned the wife to pay attention.  For those who've never been to Italy.....they go overboard on signs.  For what you might expect in the US...it's triple that number in Italy.  

So we came this 6-lane road, and I figured I had half-a-mile to go.....just as we enter the intersection....she shouts 'left, left'.  Well....I'm already half way across this avenue, and there's no turning left.

What occurred next....to get turned around....we went about four miles down deep into Milan and in some part of town that you probably shouldn't be in. 

About 25 minutes would pass before we entered this shortcut again.  

As we left Milan, I had this intense bad feeling about the city.

So ten days pass, and it's time to leave the Garda Sea hotel, and head home.

Now, I've told the wife....we just aren't going that way again.

I plotted a path that would take us clear over the very top of the Alps.  On a adventure driving index....it was  a '12' on a one to ten list.

At some point, after a 250-curve situation and I was tired....we hit the peak of the Alps.  It comes up over a hill and there's this 20-acre gravel park area.  I figure.....lets stop and just assess the moment.  

At this moment, I happen to notice about 40 cows wandering around the end of the gravel park area. 

We stop, and we are hoping out of the vehicle....where the wife puts her foot down....into a cow paddy.  Yes, 20-acres to stop upon and I picked the exact point where there was one.

From that day on.....shortcuts are a forbidden topic with the wife.  Day or night.....no matter where we go....it cannot be discussed as a shortcut path.

The 'Villages'?

 I sat and looked over a story from the weekend.  President Biden wants to funnel a request via Congress.....for 40-billion dollars. Objective?  To build temp-housing for migrants who cross the border....JUST there in the border states (AZ, NM, TX, and California).

Intent?  You cross the border....get some paperwork, then 'stay' there at the temp-village while your approval process is underway....NOT moving across the US.

I pondered over this.

What you'd be talking about (using AZ as an example)....there's only four cities where this could occur...Bisbee, Douglas, Lukeville and Nogales.  

So, your fed guy would show up and attempt to buy property....probably in the range of a hundred acres at each site, and erect something called 'the village'.  It'd be barracks/dorm-like buildings....probably enough to house 50,000.  Block-type housing....cheaply done and completed in a two-year period.

Security?  You'd have to have some kind of contracted 'help'.  I'm guess small companies would pop up and if you looked closely....they all have a cartel-angle to them.

You'd eventually ask yourself....how long would people be tied-down to this?  Would you feed them and cover medical stuff?  Is this a one-year type of situation....maybe even two years?

Who'd allow some 'holding'?  Most folks would see through this in two weeks, and quietly exit that facility....heading off to Chicago or California.  They aren't stupid enough to stay in some desert ghetto.  

Just tossing 40-billion dollars into a pit?  Yeah.

Would states like Arizona or Texas even agree to something like this?  I have doubts.  California?  Maybe if you limited it to four or five sites, but I would suggest well over a dozen sites to be eventually selected for this program....just in California alone.

This was probably another of Hunter's brilliant ideas....coming along to 'dad', and getting him all hyped-up.