The Thing About Crazies

I asked Grok (the AI with Twitter).....how many Americans are mentally ill.

So the number, Grok cited?  From 2023 data....about 58.7 million American adults (not teens or juveniles)....figure around 23-percent of the population have some form  of mental illness, ranging in disorders from mild to severe.

On serious issues....2021 data says about 14-million are affected (from 5 to 6 percent).

When I'm watching the news.....traveling.....I tend to think about this (call it worry).  Even watching CNN....over a 10-minute period....there will be at least one person I'm viewing, and I have a pretty sure feeling....the guy/gal....ain't 'right' (meaning a mental disorder).

So this brings me to a theory....that mental disorders are increasing over what existed in the 1970s.  Why?  I have no idea.  Maybe it's drug-use.  Maybe it's society training people to be 'crazy'. Maybe we are just evolving into this mess.

My advice if you have to be in contact with such people?   Mostly....try to humor them and stay away from in-depth conversation. If they have launched on some tirade....ease out of the room, or ask about the recent weather.  Once you've left the area....simply mark it on your book....not to visit them again.

Stephen A Smith As A Democratic Candidate In 2028?

As a introduction....Stephen A Smith is a ESPN 'talker' for sports.  Lately, he's been in conversations over political positions.

I would  describe his position....working-class guy....NOT a intellectual...probably taking only half of Biden's/Harris's positions of 2024.  Yeah, he has bluntly said....there are a lot of dumbass positions by the Democratic Party, and said that woke-stuff....is harming the nation.

The fact that half the voters are fairly attached to the far-left BS?  Well....he'd have to have a VP candidate who was far-left, and a '6' on the crazy-crazy index.....to get nomination and run a serious campaign. On this....he's not likely to pick Weltz as a VP person....but he could pick Mayor-Pete (for gay votes).

The fact that he has never run a campaign?  Yeah, that's a 4-star problem.

The fact that he's never held office before?  Yeah, that's a 4-star problem.

The fact that AOC is likely a primary competitor?  Yeah, that's a 4-star problem.

But here's the simple fact....they need some moderate to convince the public....they've changed values/directions.  He's the guy.

 

Five Questions

 1.  Was Covid a 'test'?

I know that probably a quarter of society believes in this fantasy, but there's pretty much zero evidence to support the idea.

I do agree....the vax-business was designed to get vaccinated people to a certain 'status' of health....oddly with kids dragged into this frame of requiring a vaccination.  That part of the story is pretty suspect.

2.   How many Americans have Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)?

Well....officially, NO ONE has done a study on this, or devised a index to identify your level (say 1-to-10).

I think that some PhD folks are fearful....if you open up such a study and admit that 12-million Americans suffer from extreme TDS....what would you do to treat them? Mental help?  How?

Then the question comes  up....are they starting to have associated mental and physical problems, and lessening their lives by a decade?

3.  Do both Tren de Aragua (the Venezuelan gang) and MS-13 have lobbyists and campaign donation situations brewing with  politicians? 

Officially....currently....we can say no.  I suspect by the end of 2025....enough evidence will exist to show both have a lobbyist support group (or  two), and both have a minimum of  $10-million in campaign donations from 2024 by itself.

The trouble is....it's a crowded area....the Columbia cartel probably has a lobbyist, and even the Mexican cartel folks maintain a DC presence.

4.  Is it possible that a quarter of the voting public doesn't see drug-and-human-trafficking gangs as terror organizations?

I think well over 50-million Americans are conditioned in some way....to deny facts, and just operate with a mindset that things are just not understandable.  It's like saying anything above 5th-grade math....is too hard for their mind to handle.

This group moves along like this...until one day....a neighbor's kid dies from fentanyl, or is murdered by some Tren  de Arragua gang member....then they revert to reality.

5.  If you developed a propaganda 'meter' and  could readily identify 90-percent of propaganda dished out to you....are the propagandists in trouble?

Well...it means for every ten propaganda lies told....only one of them are effectively working on you.  It would also appear....you are improving your meter, and that ten percent of effective lies....will dissolve shortly.

So as AI enters the system....it probably will start assigning BS index-numbers  to stories, and make propaganda a waste of time.

Crystal Ball

 Three predictions:

1.  The Letitia James scandal?

I'll predict within 3 weeks...a  home raid occurs at her NY residence, and the residence homes in Virginia.  

By late August...evidence will be handed over....charges drafted, and a arrest occurs.  Court-case?  Just guessing....January 2025.

But here's the odd thing....if you brought up 535 House/Senate members....at least hundred of them live in DC, Virginia and Maryland...owning houses/condos.  They also have signed forms to say that's their primary residence, and done some form of fraud.  

I'll predict by the end of 2025....an investigation starts on 535 members, and this residence thing is brought up....with at least fifty of them in some form of pressure to resign or be forced out (mix of Republicans and Democrats). 

As for James?  She ends up with a fine of $100k, legal costs of $250k, and having to admit she wasn't really a resident of Virginia...meaning back-tax situations exist.  Jail-time?  No.

2. College students and high school kids start talking of due-process over grades, home-work and regulations.  By the end of 2025....all of this due-process BS....draws public attention, and Congress by mid-2026 is asked to limit due-process.

3.  Some PhD-level study will conclude by the end of 2025....to show a quarter of college attendees (and graduates) don't have the IQ capacity to be there.  

Ten Personal Views

 1.  I'm a crappy board-game player....nine times out of ten....I lose.  But I've come to realize that I view such games in a different way....trying to go long-strategy....where I should always viewing things up-close and short-term strategy...just win for the moment.

2.  Because of so much time spent overseas....I tend to always see myself as a 'guest'....meaning I try to be overly guest-like.  It takes an awful lot for me to offer blunt criticism (face-to-face).  

3.  I hate to admit it...but upon meeting  people....I tend 'measure' their mental illness situation.  As long as I give you a 1-to-4.....you need not worry.  Anything over six?  I think you have a problem, and with stuff over a seven....I'm likely to limit my time with you.

4.  Everything about WrestleMania is fake....but I've come to realize most of politics....is fake as well.

5.  If you met with a hundred folks (adults) and asked them to define perpetual....more than half would say it's some kind of Italian dish, a French car, or some clothing fashion out of Honduras.

6.   Earn, spend, save, or invest.....the gov't will tax it.

7.   2028 Democratic candidate list for President/VP: AOC and Mayor-Pete.  Yeah, it's a pretty weak situation but over the past 20 years....people found better occupations and priorities in life....moving on and beyond politics.

8. If you asked people to define a 'struggle session'.....more than 95-percent would  be unable to do so.

It is a basic form of public humiliation and criticism, devised originally by Maoist China during the Cultural Revolution. The idea was....you got a group to sit and force them into a confession stage.... about their perceived ideological or personal failings...even if it were fake and non-existent. They will admit this just to make the group happy.  

9.  Happiness can be as cheap as a baloney sandwich, a Pepsi, and a bag of chips.

10. You get the impression that CNN must have at least 3,000 'experts' that they can call upon each day.   You might also have the impression that 2,990 of them aren't really expertish in anything. (Yeah, expertish is not a real word, but I just invented it). 

My Theory On Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

I have this theory. 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was probably just a bumbling Hispanic guy from El Salvador...who was slightly attached to the MS-13 gang stuff from 2012 (when he arrived in the US....to 2019, when Maryland police apprehended him).

I wouldn't call him stupid....just not bright or clever.

Locked up in detention (with ICE)....I think some FBI-agent saw an opportunity to bring KAG into the asset-circle.  A deal was made, and KAG was given a never-ending path to stay in America.

Around 2022....KAG was driving migrant 'van' (human-trafficking) through Tennessee, and got pulled over.  He probably gave the troopers the number to call, and they were told by the FBI agent....let the guy go....he's one of our people.

So  it continued.

Suggesting that I've watched too much 'Wired' (the TV series)?  KAG is the kind of the guy they look for....not that bright or having any real rank.  

FBI admitting this?  I doubt that they want the attention at this point in time.  KAG trying to contact them and get something done?  OH YEAH....he's probably working some deal to get a new ID/name, and casually fly into Miami with some legit deal.

How The Roman Empire Quietly Dissolved?

  Most historians will argue over the date....but a majority will say Rome 'fell' around 476 AD.  It wasn't a quick thing, or a single war, or organized effort.  Most folks go to five central themes of the 'end'.

1.  Economic instability.  There was a period of chronic inflation, which led the authorities to spiraling taxation. At some point, the need for cheap labor(slaves mostly).....led onto economic resilience. In effect....the military and size of the empire drained it's resources.

2.  Military overreach?  The empire had a massive border to start with, and only grew.  At some point....they went to mercenaries to ensure public safety. 

3.  Political corruption and instability became a daily problem in the end.  With frequent changes in leadership....either through assassination or a coup...only worsen matter.  Toward the end....provincial governors had excessive power, which helped to undermine central authority. This effort around 284 AD....to divide  the Empire into two sections?  It didn't help matters.

4.  Social/cultural decay?  Toward the last  hundred years....you could make a case for urban decay.  People lacked  pride in what they had. Everywhere you looked....there was an erosion in the social system. 

5.  Everywhere you looked over the last 100 years...external pressure.  The frontier was overwhelmed.

6.  Finally, there's this environmental and demographic problem.  The plague wrecked stability.....with the climate continually changing the agricultural output.   

You can look around and see dozens of references to the American 'empire'  decline, and suggest the ending story.