I'm mostly shaking my head. There's probably five individuals I would have easily gone to instead of Harris, and probably gotten better 'traction' for the vote. Since April, I figured that Warren or Bloomberg would be VP. At a long-shot....I would have even put Mayor Pete into the situation.
But this was limited to the 'golden-rule'.....you had to be female and black. Once you established that situation....you cut the potential down a great deal.
So the questions left?
Will there be a convention? At this point, I'd say there might be forty people sent by the DNC, and some Twitter-type convention might occur. I'd even go as far to suggest that Biden might hold a convention in his basement, with 12 DNC officials, Senator Harris, his wife, and local pizza kid.
For several months, I've suggested that Joe will reach a point after the convention, where he either has a heart-attack (fake) or says yeah....dementia is now a problem. I still believe that may come, with Harris the one left to be the candidate in November. If we get past 1 September, with Joe still there? It'll really shock me.
As for Harris attracting voters? She doesn't have the charisma, the charm, or the character. If you wanted someone with less structure, and less potential than Hillary....then Harris is it.
So I'm shaking my head.....this is an arranged poker hand to marginally run against Trump.
Wednesday, 29 July 2020
Barr and the 'Circus'
I put between 90 and 120 minutes into watching the House hearing from yesterday, with AG Barr. I came away with five observations:
1. In the old days, prior to the internet, C$PAN would have covered this but you needed cable or satellite connectivity. At the very most, maybe 300k Americans would have watched the hearing.
Today? Via at least ten different internet platforms, C$PAN, Fox Business, etc.....there were probably 10-million who watched elements of the hearing live, and probably another 10-plus million who watched clips later.
A lot of people....independent-type voters, probably sat there and kept asking themselves where the drama was, and just viewed the whole thing as a 'circus-like' operation with 12-year-old kids trying to act like adults.
2. This exchange with Rep Hakeem Jeffries, where Jeffries wanted to play the fantasy game that Trump wouldn't leave office if the election went to Biden....was 5-star comical.
3. Once Barr laid down the card of the Republicans being the only ones against violence and destruction in the metropolitan cities....it really scorched the whole Democratic accomplishments of the Hearing. It begs the question....is this a Democratic Party agenda item?
4. Ineffective hearing? In terms of bringing down Barr, or really damaging Trump? It was barely felt. The suggestion that Jerry Nadler can't lead a heavy-type critical Hearing? Here's the thing, you go around the 24 Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee, and there's no one in the group who'd you grant five-status as a lawyer. Most of them haven't stepped into a courtroom in twenty years.
5. It just wasn't much of a drama, with 'point of order' and 'reclaim time' being uttered on a constant basis. It would help if the entire committee was made up of nine people total, and just end the 'drama' at the 2-hour point.
1. In the old days, prior to the internet, C$PAN would have covered this but you needed cable or satellite connectivity. At the very most, maybe 300k Americans would have watched the hearing.
Today? Via at least ten different internet platforms, C$PAN, Fox Business, etc.....there were probably 10-million who watched elements of the hearing live, and probably another 10-plus million who watched clips later.
A lot of people....independent-type voters, probably sat there and kept asking themselves where the drama was, and just viewed the whole thing as a 'circus-like' operation with 12-year-old kids trying to act like adults.
2. This exchange with Rep Hakeem Jeffries, where Jeffries wanted to play the fantasy game that Trump wouldn't leave office if the election went to Biden....was 5-star comical.
3. Once Barr laid down the card of the Republicans being the only ones against violence and destruction in the metropolitan cities....it really scorched the whole Democratic accomplishments of the Hearing. It begs the question....is this a Democratic Party agenda item?
4. Ineffective hearing? In terms of bringing down Barr, or really damaging Trump? It was barely felt. The suggestion that Jerry Nadler can't lead a heavy-type critical Hearing? Here's the thing, you go around the 24 Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee, and there's no one in the group who'd you grant five-status as a lawyer. Most of them haven't stepped into a courtroom in twenty years.
5. It just wasn't much of a drama, with 'point of order' and 'reclaim time' being uttered on a constant basis. It would help if the entire committee was made up of nine people total, and just end the 'drama' at the 2-hour point.
Tuesday, 28 July 2020
Experts of What?
In the past two months, it's painfully obvious that Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube have a medical advice policy.
Most of us could understand an 'insult' policy or a various policies to ensure the calm nature of people. But a medical advice policy? Who sits on this board for each?
It'd be like some Alaskan lumberjack having a policy on handling of alligators, or some NY subway management team having a policy on the hauling of cattle on subway cars.
So the question ought to resonate there.....why have a medical advice policy?
Most of us could understand an 'insult' policy or a various policies to ensure the calm nature of people. But a medical advice policy? Who sits on this board for each?
It'd be like some Alaskan lumberjack having a policy on handling of alligators, or some NY subway management team having a policy on the hauling of cattle on subway cars.
So the question ought to resonate there.....why have a medical advice policy?
Portland Story
I noticed in the news this morning....Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Council Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty chatted up that they want a meeting Department of Homeland Security 'chief' Chad Wolf immediately. Topic? How to get federal law enforcement officers from the city of Portland gone.
First, will Wolf even respond. My guess is 'no'. Around about Friday....the Wheeler/Hardesty team will ask the Governor for 'help'. He'll pick up the phone and attempt to call Wolf....to find that other than a five-minute chat with Wolf, there's zero interest in Wolf's mind to meet with the Portland leadership.
So then you go to the big dynamic of this discussion.....does the mayor or city council chief have any control over their riot-squad? The answer? No.
Then you start to speculate....if Wheeler and Hardesty don't control anything, why bother even inviting Wolf to a meeting? Wolf's likely response would be that every single protester has to settle down and peace has to be seen for ten days straight before any federal law folks leave town. Wheeler and Hardesty can't deliver that.
The whole discussion here? I think the town revenue collection folks have added up the numbers and indicate that hotels are empty, bars and restaurants in the downtown area are conducting virtually no business, and there's this fear that chaos will reign on for another 100 days (until the election). For Wheeler and Hardesty....that's a dismal future to gaze upon.
The city budget for next year? Around a month ago, the council passed the next budget....5.6-billion dollars. Getting to that,with Covid-19 and the riots? Physically impossible. You would have to revisit property taxes and fees for the city.
My guess is that the budget folks have visited Wheeler and Hardesty....giving them a view of a budget shortfall occurring before the end of 2020.
In simple terms, if Wheeler and Hardesty fail to get the riot/chaos resolved, a massive problem in budget cuts will come by early 2021. Homeland Security has sat now at the poker table, and concluded the way to play this game....be the magnet to attract BLM/Antifa, and just keep them busy on the streets of Portland. This will bankrupt the city, unless it dissolves the mess.
First, will Wolf even respond. My guess is 'no'. Around about Friday....the Wheeler/Hardesty team will ask the Governor for 'help'. He'll pick up the phone and attempt to call Wolf....to find that other than a five-minute chat with Wolf, there's zero interest in Wolf's mind to meet with the Portland leadership.
So then you go to the big dynamic of this discussion.....does the mayor or city council chief have any control over their riot-squad? The answer? No.
Then you start to speculate....if Wheeler and Hardesty don't control anything, why bother even inviting Wolf to a meeting? Wolf's likely response would be that every single protester has to settle down and peace has to be seen for ten days straight before any federal law folks leave town. Wheeler and Hardesty can't deliver that.
The whole discussion here? I think the town revenue collection folks have added up the numbers and indicate that hotels are empty, bars and restaurants in the downtown area are conducting virtually no business, and there's this fear that chaos will reign on for another 100 days (until the election). For Wheeler and Hardesty....that's a dismal future to gaze upon.
The city budget for next year? Around a month ago, the council passed the next budget....5.6-billion dollars. Getting to that,with Covid-19 and the riots? Physically impossible. You would have to revisit property taxes and fees for the city.
My guess is that the budget folks have visited Wheeler and Hardesty....giving them a view of a budget shortfall occurring before the end of 2020.
In simple terms, if Wheeler and Hardesty fail to get the riot/chaos resolved, a massive problem in budget cuts will come by early 2021. Homeland Security has sat now at the poker table, and concluded the way to play this game....be the magnet to attract BLM/Antifa, and just keep them busy on the streets of Portland. This will bankrupt the city, unless it dissolves the mess.
Sunday, 26 July 2020
How 'Compound' Neighborhoods Work
Looking at the Seattle, Portland, LA, and San Francisco environment....homelessness....drug activity....police defunding...it's difficult to see the current home situation continuing 'as is'. In ten to twenty years, it wouldn't surprise if new neighborhood rise up out of the 'ashes', and become compound neighborhoods like you see in South Africa.
The way these work?
You leave the main road and go down a street where a guard post exists....typically with two or three armed guys. Behind the gate will be two jeep-like vehicles with two guys in each vehicle.....heavily armed.
You flash your entry badge and the gate rises. You go down the guarded street to your home....feeling safe and secure. You enter the home to find a gun locker near the front-door.
The regional laws are written in a way that should anyone cross the wire and enter the area....the guard crews can react with deadly force.
In South Africa, this is the accepted form of security. You as the resident....pay the neighborhood 'company' to survey the fence-line, monitor cameras, and control entry to the neighborhood. The police? They are not part of your security, and generally.....there's enough laws to make them more or less....the clean-up crew after the private security folks have done the job necessary.
All of this is coming to the west coast and probably Minneapolis....over the next twenty years. People will laugh about the first big secure neighborhood put up and the crew hired to protect people and property. But eventually.....everyone who makes 'real' money....will buy into such neighborhoods.
The way these work?
You leave the main road and go down a street where a guard post exists....typically with two or three armed guys. Behind the gate will be two jeep-like vehicles with two guys in each vehicle.....heavily armed.
You flash your entry badge and the gate rises. You go down the guarded street to your home....feeling safe and secure. You enter the home to find a gun locker near the front-door.
The regional laws are written in a way that should anyone cross the wire and enter the area....the guard crews can react with deadly force.
In South Africa, this is the accepted form of security. You as the resident....pay the neighborhood 'company' to survey the fence-line, monitor cameras, and control entry to the neighborhood. The police? They are not part of your security, and generally.....there's enough laws to make them more or less....the clean-up crew after the private security folks have done the job necessary.
All of this is coming to the west coast and probably Minneapolis....over the next twenty years. People will laugh about the first big secure neighborhood put up and the crew hired to protect people and property. But eventually.....everyone who makes 'real' money....will buy into such neighborhoods.
Consulate Discussion
For the record, because news organization never ask these questions....up until last week, there were five Chinese consulates in the US. With the Houston facility 'closed'.....there are now four left:
1. LA
2. SF
3. Chicago
4. New York
The Chinese reaction by the forced closure? They picked the US facility in Chengdu to close.
The rumor that the Chinese will shut down the US consulate in Hong Kong? Just a rumor. The Chinese would have to calculate that one of their consulates on the US west coast would then be picked for the next closure.
1. LA
2. SF
3. Chicago
4. New York
The Chinese reaction by the forced closure? They picked the US facility in Chengdu to close.
The rumor that the Chinese will shut down the US consulate in Hong Kong? Just a rumor. The Chinese would have to calculate that one of their consulates on the US west coast would then be picked for the next closure.
West Coast of Wasington
For 13 months, I was stationed and lived in the Tacoma area of Washington state in the early 1980s.
For years after I left, I had this 'desire' to return and live there. I'd call it more of an enchantment than anything else.
First, there was the weather. It was never truly hot in the summer, or bitter-cold in the winter. Total snowfall for that period there....just over 1.5 inches. I admit....it rained two-hundred-odd days out of the year (usually a 30-minute passing of showers).
Second, within a six-hour drive, you had probably fifty-different state or national parks/forest areas. If you just wanted to go to a beach and watch the sun go down....it was the perfect place.
Third, at least in that era of the early 1980s, you could go anywhere in the region and feel fairly safe. Even downtown Seattle, was this hub of no activity.
I think a lot of military people passed through the region and felt the same way. It had charm and character. It was quiet, and had all this landscape. Today? I'm not so sure about the charm or character.
For years after I left, I had this 'desire' to return and live there. I'd call it more of an enchantment than anything else.
First, there was the weather. It was never truly hot in the summer, or bitter-cold in the winter. Total snowfall for that period there....just over 1.5 inches. I admit....it rained two-hundred-odd days out of the year (usually a 30-minute passing of showers).
Second, within a six-hour drive, you had probably fifty-different state or national parks/forest areas. If you just wanted to go to a beach and watch the sun go down....it was the perfect place.
Third, at least in that era of the early 1980s, you could go anywhere in the region and feel fairly safe. Even downtown Seattle, was this hub of no activity.
I think a lot of military people passed through the region and felt the same way. It had charm and character. It was quiet, and had all this landscape. Today? I'm not so sure about the charm or character.
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