Four German News Stories

 1.  So the rest of the story came out over the Baumholder US post gate-incident.....where the two gate guards (civilians) shot an approaching Army guy over the weekend.

Apparently, the guy's wife had come to the gate and asked for protection.  The Army NCO approached and was told to 'back off'....refused, and the guards responded.

There was a warning shot, and I would imagine some video of the episode exists.  Guy's aggressive behavior?  Not yet explained.

Oddly, the NCO made a play toward the guard's gun drawn, and this was the moment when the guard decided 'enough'...shooting the guy in the leg.

I'm guessing that the Army will ask for a mental eval of the guy.  

2.  Both Hessen and Baden-Wurttemberg are discussing offering drug purity tests....free.  So you could take your crack or meth to some gov't run shop and have it tested.  Odds of people actually doing this?  That would be my question.  For dealers....if this started to occur?  Well....it'd put dealers under pressure.  

3.  Hessen, the state, has updated their population count....now at 6.39-million.  Key area gaining?  Southern side of Frankfurt....Offenbach.

4.  High temperature for my village today?  69 F  (21 C).  Yeah, it's been the most summer of the entire past decade.....but with marginal rainfall.

Liz Quote

 “What we've done in our politics is create a situation where we're electing idiots."

-- Liz Cheney (quote from yesterday)

I pondered upon this quote and find that I readily agree with Liz.

But I would correct it.....for over 200 years....we've been electing idiots.  If you evaluated our voting....maybe we goof up once in five times, and accidentally elect some competent guy as mayor, governor, or President.

But the majority of folks that we elect....aren't that special, or that smart.  

While we are discussing this....some folks might even stand up and admit they voted for Liz....fully realizing that she was an idiot, but suggesting that of five potential choices....she was the lesser idiot at the time.  

Pizza Story

 I noticed this week....NYC is going to some regulation on pizza shops....no more stone-oven baking of pizza (bad for the environment).

I'd gone through 30-odd years of my life and around 1994...being in Italy for a military duty situation....I sat at a true Italian pizza shop and ordered a pizza which was baked in the stone-oven.

This was not a thick bread dough situation and it was fairly crispy in the end, but it was a five-star pizza. 

Over the years, I've probably eaten at least one-hundred pizzas from a stone-oven.  

If you gave me a choice?  I'd also select the stone-oven choice.

So this brings me back to the environmental folks.  After years and years of watching them at work....it seems like their preoccupation is to destroy civilization.  

Air Force Chatter

 This past week, the Air Force announced that they would probably miss their yearly goals for 2023 recruitment by 10-percent....for active-duty.  In the Guard/Reserve....it's up to around 12-percent.  

Reason?  They don't go into a lot of detail or explain the problem.

Resolving this?  Well....it's just odd.  

First, the tattoo rules are going to be seriously relaxed. 

Second, if you were drug-tested and failed on marijuana....they are now ready to consider 'second-chance' options.  They don't really detail how this would work.  My humble guess is that you'd agree for 'treatment', monthly tests to show your dedication, and some rehab therapy for a year or two.

Third, the BMI/weight stuff?  It appears to be going to a slightly relaxed state.  Don't get excited...I doubt if they'd allow more than half-a-inch extra on BMI or five pounds more weight for the max level.   

My view?  The minute they hit better numbers....this whole policy will be reversed, and folks will be standing there in frustration.  So I doubt that the changes will do much to get enlistments back up.

At the pace of things for 2024?  I would make a humble bet that they progress from a 10-percent miss....to a 15-to-20-percent miss.  

Adding more resolutions in 2024?  Yeah....I would imagine there's a group of twenty-odd people trying to dream up something that would get a couple of thousand more people into the recruitment office.  College funding or bonus activity?  That probably will come next.

It wouldn't shock me if they started to offer a $80,000 college fund if you agreed to six years of service.  It also wouldn't shock me if they offered up a $20,000 TSP-retirement fund start-up situation if you agreed to four years.  

But here's the thing....isn't this recruitment problem a crappy long-term situation...probably lasting for an entire decade?  I'm suggesting in five years....that they'd be routinely missing 30-percent of their goal, and unable to fill 50-percent of squadrons to full manning.  

It is a curious problem....with no real ability to fix.  

Ten Things: 27 June 2023

 1.  Out of the 37 Shakespeare plays that we are sure about (that he wrote)....how many would require a trigger-warning if shown to a 18-to-21 college crowd?  Five?  Ten?  All?  What's that really say about society 500 years later?

2.  If AI (artificial intelligence) gave you conflicting advice against what your dentist says about your teeth....who do you believe?

3.  If you look at dock traffic going OUT of China....it's very limited.  Question is....if that much less traffic....how do you hide all the Fentanyl that was shipped in previous year's containers?

4.  I watched some 60-second clip off Fox News yesterday (I try to limit myself)....some mental expert says of the sub tragedy from last week....lot of people lack empathy.  I paused over this.....where has this guy been the past 20 years?  I passed this reality back around 2005 to 2010.  

5.  I pulled out some old clothing and decided to dispose of three jackets.  Oddly, I found a ten-dollar bill in one of them (probably from the 2004-to-2008 era).  This is probably what happened at the Pentagon and how they found the 6-billion dollars....just cleaning the closet, and there it was.

6.  As fragile as some people are....if you just offered them avocado on toast....probably 10-percent of people would freak out and require a shot or two of premium whiskey.

7.  With all this gender chatter going on and how a 8-year old kid can make decisions for himself....some kid will wise-up and say he should be able to buy whiskey with his allowance money or his yard-clean-up job cash.  How will you explain that he can't have whiskey but he can go trans?

8.  If you evaluate erratic behavior in America....is it possible that we down to the last million people with zero-erratic lifestyles?  

9.  There must be at least six different 'defenders of Russia' in existence, and each claiming some 'status'.

10.  I read this yesterday....16.5 million Americans are training/excising in a reckless fashion....to trigger an early death.  Basically, we need a law to prevent you from too much exercise.

My Way Of Resolving The Current Political Mess

 I have this theory.

Lets have a 2024 election campaign with three to four candidates (at least one third-party....perhaps even two).

Lets wrap up the November election with both the Republican and Democratic folks winning no more than 40 of the states in the Electoral College situation.  

In fact, lets rig three of the states (Arizona and Georgia guaranteed) unable to conclude their count for a minimum of ten days.  

Third-party folks? (one or two).

Let them take at least ten states.

Electoral College would then crap out.

The House would meet in January and grumble because they have to form as state groups....not as party members. 

If any states delayed the vote-count?  The folks there at the House meeting....would not be able to delay matters.

The House would have a choice of the three top vote-getters.  The Senate would have only a choice of the top two vote-getters....for VP.

The state delegations would linger on theatrics, and the head of the House would end up being a temp-President, while they fought over this.

In the end, you'd end up with a Republican VP, but it's anyone's guess how the House might end their torment.

Ten Things: 26 Jun 2023

 1.  Oddly, with the 'deal' that Hunter Biden got....no one in the IRS cares about who paid Hunter money or what service they got for the money.  This odd way of arranging the deal...makes the whole thing into a comedy.

2.  It's currently figured that only ten-percent of Americans (max) read newspapers.  I think if you asked the ten-percent....other than the front-page, the local news page, the crime blotter, and obituary page.....that's about all of the 20 pages that they read.  

3.  It's now figured to be physically impossible to write any state law banning drag shows.  At best, if the establishment has a liquor license.....you can ensure kids don't show up.   Maybe you need to force people in liquor license activity, and then say it can't be opened unless the license activity is being achieved.  

4.  Chris Christie's moment....probably never existed, in terms of getting national attention for the 2024 primary.

5.  I expect at some point within five years....a vast twist on handling shoplifters, and people get three months of jail for taking a dollar of value.  

6.  A Delaware town (8,000 residents) has invented a commercial company-right-to-vote out of thin air.  Strictly local elections.  So far....one company....one vote.  Makes one wonder....if you were a guy with one company....why not split it into 30 sub-companies (maybe one employee each) and get 31 votes?  To be honest, I think if a company is paying $10k in tax revenue (property taxes too)....that ought to be worth one single vote.  For each $10k after that....give them additional votes.  Course, hookers would eventually get into this, and claim $100k of revenue, and would want ten votes.  

7.  Some political group talking about regulating artificial intelligence (AI).  I suspect AI is already reviewing options and looking for ways to regulate political groups.

8.  I noticed the death count (for 2022)....pedestrian's death count (being killed by car)....highest in 41 years.  Begs questions but I doubt if anyone will dig into this.

9.  Some video came up of RFK Jr in work-out form.  This guy has zero fat on his body.  Has to be spending 60 to 90 minutes a day working out.

10.  I think if you asked a hundred Americans if they live in a prosperity situation, less than 20-percent would agree with you.  If you opened their freezer and looked at the steaks, or asked the value of their $1,500 big-screen TV, or the cost of their new car....the bulk (majority) would then admit being in a prosperity lifestyle.