Phobia Chatter

 I tried to read through a news piece, where the White House is opening up a discussion about development of a anti-Islamophobia situation.

Meaning?  Well....if you had an irrational fear of Islamic people or situation, that would fall into the category of Islamophobia.  The key thing here....it has to be a 'fear' and it has to be 'irrational'.  If it's not a fear or irrational, then it can't be a phobia.

Meanwhile, while talking about this White House work to be done (I assume they've hired some doctor to run this 'hype'....they've also now had to open up and admit that there is anti-Semitismophobia  going on (the irrational fear of Jewish people).  

The people who seem to be affected by the fear of Jewish people?  Well....so far, the White House hasn't said who these people are, or what category they fit into.  

This leading to a illogical confrontation?  I looked it up for phobias....generally, around 10 to 12 percent of people suffer from them.  It'd seem logical for the White House to just run some full-scale operation, and try to cure all the phobia people in America.

Just trying to imagine just how vast this would get. Probably some drug-action in the works.

Ten Odd Facts Over The 1860 US Election

 1.  The nation existed with the Democratic Party and the Whig Party, until 1854.  At that point, the Kansas-Nebraska Act fell into play, and within a year....the Whig Party had divided into two new parties.

The American Party formed up around mostly southern former Whig Party members....claiming to be conservatives in nature.  It's safe to say they were pro-slavery.  By 1860, they had renamed themselves the Constitutional Union Party.  

The Republican Party formed up around mostly northern former Whit Party members....claiming to be conservatives in nature.  It's safe to say they were against slaver.  

2.  In 1860 at the Democratic Party convention...things got heated, and screwed up.  By the end of the week....the guaranteed 'win' for Stephen Douglas had failed, and no candidate emerged out of the convention.

The convention (out of Charleston) failed.  A second convention held two months later....in Baltimore...got Douglas his nomination.  But the sentiment by southern Democrats was negative....so they met in a hotel, and had a 3rd Convention-like meeting. 

The result was the creation of the Southern Democratic Party, with John Breckenridge selected.

3.  The Republican count for the primary?  Eight.  Seward was viewed from day one as the likely winner, with Chase running a close second.

Where Seward lost his 'chance'?  Well....he made a number of speeches prior to the convention which hinted that war was the only way to end slavery in America, and this apparently scared the crap out of a fair number of Republicans.

So Chase should have moved up a notch?  Well....he would have....except he was a 1800s-form of RINO (actually a former Democrat) and selling his brand/message at the convention became difficult.

Where Lincoln surged?  Mostly on speeches given over the past two years.  

4.  The selling point of the Constitutional Union Party?  They did everything possible to avoid making slavery a main part of their message.

5.  Lincoln winning with only 40-percent of the national vote?  Yes.  Douglas, who was viewed as the favorite twelve months prior?  He managed only 29-percent of the national vote.

6.  Margin of a win for Virginia.....roughly 160 votes (Bell won over Breckenridge).  Lincoln took only 1-percent of the votes that day.

7.  Less than 1,000 votes made the difference in California....where Lincoln won over Douglas.  

8.  Lincoln was the ONLY candidate listed for New Jersey/New York.

9.  The South Carolina Legislature voted for the EC delegates....not the general public.

10.  Roughly 250 votes made the difference for the Lincoln win in Oregon (against Breckenridge).  

Note: There were 303 EC delegates....so you needed 152 to win.  Lincoln won with 28 EC votes to spare.  

Travel

 I sat down the last month and looked over my travels (I turn 65 shortly).

At last count, I've been to 36 states and the District of Columbia.  I will admit in the case of New Hampshire....I crossed the border, had lunch, and left the state after two hours.  

On selling itself?  California had just about everything, and over the past twenty years....screwed up literally everything.

For countries?  At least count, 31.  I didn't count that Air Force flight into Israel where we weren't supposed to leave the ramp area, and take-off was in 90 minutes.  

Exotic places?  Maybe you can count Iceland in that category.  You go mostly to look at glaciers, volcanic areas, hot springs, etc.  

Crappy places?  That 12-hour 'tour' into Kosovo probably fits into that category.  

Places oversold/over-valued?  New Zealand.

Places that you probably just want to spend six weeks driving around?  Ireland.

That 3-day stop-over  in Dubai?  Honestly, the 'mall' is the selling point. There's a shop near the entry where they sell bags of popcorn that have at least three whole sticks of butter melted into the medium-sized bag.

The place where you felt ultra-ultra-safe?  Singapore.

The country where you continually looked over your shoulder?  South Africa.

The country where you are likely to gain one pound of weight for each day you spend there?  Italy.

1860 Election: Was Lincoln On All State Ballots?

 NO.

This is an odd fact about the 1860 election.  Lincoln was not listed on 10 state ballots (Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida).

John Bell of the Constitutional Union Party (the alternate-path Whig Party) was the guy listed in the ten states in question.  In several cases, Bell came close to a state win (Georgia for example, he had almost 42-percent of the vote).

So in the end, Lincoln had collected enough Electoral votes because of the four-party election.  

I should add...in the case of New York and New Jersey.....they only allowed Lincoln on the ballot, leaving off the three other candidates. 

Probably worth bringing up that South Carolina decided not to hold a Presidential election, and used the state legislative process....letting them assign the eight electors to Breckenridge (the Southern Democratic Party).  All the way from the 1700s...to this point....elections were avoided.  1868?  The state went to the election process to determine the Electoral College situation.

So if you were wondering....could Trump be denied on the ballot of ten states....could he still win?  Well....history says 'yes'.  I might go as far to suggest twenty states could be denied and he could still win the Electoral College.  Shocker?  Oh, I would imagine thousands of journalists have never reviewed the 1860 election or its consequences.  

The final question....if a Trump win occurred with only thirty states listing him on the ballot?  Yeah, it'd be the path for some 1860 dissolving of society....Civil 'Woke' War.  

Fifteen Observations/Lessons Out Of Travel

 1.  Long 14-day trips drain you (I'd put it at a 90-percent odds).  Maybe it's what you need from a boring job, or being burnt-out.  But I'd typically suggest no more than seven days.  Also note, you probably don't want 14-days of just plain beach-resort laying around.  

2.  If going outside the US, do your menu research and have at least four food items which won't be a problem to order at some restaurant.  Note, both fish and lamb is pretty popular in 50-percent of the world.  For example, 95-percent of what you get served in Greece....has garlic in it.  

3.  Bus tours beyond the US....tend to be on the 'go' from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM.  These may not fit your expectations.

4.  Have a tote-bag for walking tours or day-long events, and stow a 1-liter bottle of water there, with at least two snacks (avoid chocolate...it melts).  Hotels usually don't want you taking their breakfast chow out of the dining room.  Look for a fruit stand near the hotel.

5.  Public toilets are probably not going to be up to your expectations in 90-percent of the world.

6.  If going to a non-English country....have some some booklet with 300-odd phrases on you.  Knowing the expression for the WC (the toilet) is important.

7.  When the bus-guide says to gather to leave at 2:00 PM....they aren't BSing you.  Have some idea of where your end-point for the day or hotel is located, and have sufficient cash to reach that point (on your own).

8. Going to exotic European beach location?  Don't be utterly shocked if topless ladies or totally nude folks end up on the beach.  If you got some problem...you should have signed up for Florida or Texas beaches.  Also, don't be utterly shocked if the nude/topless scene is out-of-shape 50-year old guy/gal.  

9.  Electrical plugs differ from country to country.  Buy some universal package (probably in the $25 range) and carry it in your bag to service your phone/tab/camera.

10.  Sometimes, the most rural and less-traveled spots in the world....are more interesting than Paris, Amsterdam or Rome.  

11.  My general advice on eating....try to eat hearty at breakfast (at the hotel), have a light snack for mid-afternoon, and go for a hearty dinner at night.  Lot of countries tend to eat at 7 to 9 PM, which might be difficult for Americans to adjust to.

12.  Dress for the weather.  If it is extremely hot....opt for shorts and a t-shirt.  

13.  Subways are amazing for inner-city travel.  They are also a magnet for pick-pocket thieves.  

14.  The ultimate plus-up on travel is business travel tickets (the extra big seats).  However, I tend to see the real value in that you get entry into the business lounges at various airports.  So if you fly from A to B, then connect to C, and finally arrive at D (your final destination).....you had three entry points for business lounges, where food and drink are free.  If you have to waste an hour at A, then 90 minutes at B, and 200 minutes C....this lounge business might be a super positive.

15.  Hotels in exotic places make a ton of money off their bar situation.  If you need a drink or two at night...step out and walk a block or two to some pub....to pay half the cost of drinks.  Also note, for breakfast, water (of a decent drinking nature) is typically free....so hydrate there as much as possible.

The Thing About The Mental Disorders Discussion

I sat and tried to read over this article piece, stopped, and just stood there pondering.

First, this poll/study drills down into mostly white folks....not Hispanic or black.

Second, it does divide up folks into young and old.....conservative and liberal.  I have to trust that they asked enough questions to put people on the right listing.

What the numbers mostly say lead to three 'facts' (may be totally true....maybe only half-true):

1.  Young white liberals have a 46-percent chance of having some kind of mental condition.  They don't really spill the beans on what this might be (I might ask more questions what you mean by a mental condition).

2.  Young white female liberals....have a 56-percent chance of having a mental disorder.  Again, they just don't tell you the type of disorder.  They don't ask if they are heavily medicated, boozed-up half the time, or just hanging around whacked-out friends.

3.  Young white conservatives only have a 21-percent of some mental condition.  So you wander into some group like this....probably a church group or bowling 'gang', and feel pretty safe that they weren't nutcases.  

In the late 1970s....after I had wandered off the farm and gone to the Air Force....I had already been inoculated on crazy folks (being from Alabama, you probably bumped into at least one clearly crazed person every week).  So it didn't really bother me with the crazies that I met in the Air Force.  

As the years rolled by, I came to note that there were more and more of these mental disorder folks that you'd bump into. 

In the past six months, I bumped into an American with the bridge-crossing disorder.  For her, no problem in crossing a bridge that was forty-feet from the ground or stream.  But then you come to German bridges that are 300 ft from the ground?  NO....she has to design trips in some fashion where she would never cross such a bridge.  Yeah, it's a mental disorder but not likely to be one that you'd rank as critical.

I've also bumped into a German gal who has the 'wind on the neck' disorder.  This means she can't possibly sit in a out-door restaurant/cafe because the potential wind to hit her neck would create a perceived health problem (she has to always sit indoors).  

Now I should say this about the two women....they are both liberals.  It probably wouldn't take you more than 15 minutes of conversation to have the 'hints' laid out and you just sit and grin....avoiding conversation as much as possible.  They are nice people....just on the fringe of life, and having to deal with significant mental disorders.

So I don't doubt this number business.  My question....has this always been around and we've just become more open to people having mental issues/disorders?  

The 42 Year Old Story

 I noticed this past week....the Air Force raised maximum enlistment age to 42 (officers and enlisted).

I pondered upon this.

Up to age 41 years and 364 days, you can walk into a recruitment center and sign up now.   

Handling basic?  If you went out to the general public (male and female) and asked a 39-year old about their physical shape (to handle basic training)....I'd say fewer than 10-percent are in that type of physical shape.  

What older guy (or gal) would walk in and enlist at age 38 or 40?  Maybe if you were seriously unemployed (ex-teacher burned out,  for example)....it'd make sense.  

The chief issue I'd see....you'd be in four years....an E-5 (Staff Sergeant).  On life experience, you'd probably start to seriously question both officers and enlisted above you.  

As for numbers of people jumping in?  I'm guessing there might be a hundred folks a year who fit into this older enlistment deal.