The King Discussion

 There was a poll among Americans.  The poll asked....who was more popular to Americans?  Trump, Biden, or King Charles?

King Charles came out ahead.  

What does this mean?  Just that the King seems more popular.

Any chance of us going back to the 'Kingdom'?  Well....normally, I'd say no.  But with things like they are.....we might be saying that things in 1760 were misunderstood, and we parted ways in a negative way.  Maybe it was time to join once again?

I pondered upon this.  I would imagine 40-percent of Americans would say it'd be worth discussing.  

Shutting down DC?  Well...yeah, that ought to be top priority.  

Fixing up a US palace for the King to stay....while visiting the US?  That would be a top priority.

Just a wild thought.

Should Life Be Complacated Or Rocket-Science?

 I think in the 1950s/1960s....you could pass through high school, and walk out into the world with the general skills to achieve something, and get ahead.  

I also think as we got into the 1970s/1980s....this path through high school became more of a problem, and as you walked out into the world....you ran into complicated matters.  You didn't fully understand credit, banks, the art of buying a car, dealing with relationships, or handling complicated matters.

Presently?  Just because you wrapped up high school and got a diploma....probably doesn't mean much of anything.  Oddly enough, that diploma got you into some doorway to a university where you will attach yourself to debt, and might graduate to get another diploma....which might also not mean much in terms of knowledge or handling complicated matters.  

These days....you might be gazing at the teacher-quality that your 'Johnny' or 'Wanda' has, and look at some pronoun 'game' or lectures designed more as a propaganda lesson, than a civics lesson.  You'd eventually decide that you yourself....might be better at instructing on simple basic school topics.  

The problem I would ask here....can a regular guy from the 1960s/1970s maneuver and transit this era today?  You need more patience to deal with stupid people.  You have to contend with failed programs which seem to give you nothing in exchange for time/money.  You have news media people who tell you that you just don't understand (when you do).

After a while, you will eventually come to the point of realizing that things aren't really that complicated or made into rocket-science....it's just designed as a smoke screen to make you believe in some imaginary story....like 'Cocaine-Bear' might be an actual real bear, or that Biden was a 9-week long lumberjack in Oregon in his youth, or that dumb idiots can serve as board members on a Fortune-500 company. 

Q-and-A

 1.  With all the indictment action on Trump....is it helping him and hurting Biden's re-election?

The more you linger in this 'zone'....the more you look like some junta from Burma, and a bunch of phony court thrills.  Voters who aren't thrilled with the Democratic 'brand' look at this, and imagine 'junta'.  

It may not be Biden or Trump who get the ultimate public enthusiasm...this might help RFK more in the end.

2.  How much would I pay to hear VP Harris speak?

Well....if you provided a decent chair, and guaranteed at least two hours of her speaking, I'd pay $90.  But I'm paying mostly to hear fifty-odd stupid quotes.

3.  How many scams do I see weekly now?

I'd say a minimum of five.  Maybe I'm smarter than I was a decade ago.

4.  How many calories a day do I think that Chris Christie consumes?

Well...to stay at that level....probably 3,500 calories.

5.  What will happen to Seattle, Portland and SF in the end (say 2030)?

First, with SF....most of the office space will sit there...empty, and drawing no income.  Same story for grocery stores shutting down in the heart of the city because of crime.  I see the mayor/city council approaching the Governor and asking for funds (lot of cash....maybe in the 2-billion range) to cover them for 2 years.  Their problem is that the gift-money won't do much but give them time....where the next cash approach will be in the 4-billion range.  There's a massive property tax problem coming shortly.

Second, with Seattle....I would suggest a serious loss in police manpower, and zero interest among recruitment (even if you doubled the pay-scale).  This will trigger around 30-percent of the residents presently in the city to review the idea of moving beyond the city limits, and just admitting Seattle has turned into a 'zombie-town'.

Third and final....Portland?  I think the city council will approach the Governor and ask for some special 'gift' (probably in the range of $1-billion) to carry them through one to two years.  The Governor might be stupid enough to do this, but the city will be drowning in debt because of the loss of residents and tourists.  I think regional towns like Battle Ground, Banks, and Wilsonville...will expand with people who exit Portland...wanting less drama and increased police protection. 

In all three cases, voters could resolve this, but no one wants to send the 'wrong' message. 

Rant-Lady

 I watched a Twitter-rant-piece this afternoon...coming from a older Alabama lady an how the American-dream is no longer possible.

Her logic?  She has a son who graduated from college....has some debt....and this job-business is no working out so far.  She says that she always preached to the kid....if you work heard, you get ahead, and life gets easier.  So far, the kid is not believing the edge, and she's losing her faith as well.

I pondered over this.  I grew up in the 1960s, and left the farm in 1977 (46 years ago last week).  My dad would have preached her 'talk'....that if you work hard, avoid trouble, and just think about things before you screw up.....you would get ahead.

I would have said in the mid-1990s....something was going on in the US, and there was a evolution underway.  More stupid people were leaving high school (and college), debt was being dumped on people without thinking, booze and drugs were plentiful, and stupid people were advancing in management and politics.

It's to a point today that some company would pay Hunter Biden to be a board member, when he knows next to nothing about their product.  In fact, several companies feel that way.

Is the American dream dead?  I'd say that it's turned into some kind of Frankenstein-dream, and getting ahead is a 'state-of-mind'.

I'd also say if you were looking for the American-dream in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, NY City, SF, or LA.....you probably need to restage your adventure and head off to some other location.

But in the end, you have to ask.....is anyone running off to find the France-dream, the South Korea-dream, or the Ecuador-dream?

Locking Of Cases Problem

 I sat and read a piece today, which lead to a San Francisco professor talking about  'psychological cost', when stores end up locking refrigerator units and cases....to keep folks from stealing property.

The jest of this....if you walk into such a store....you have to ask for a clerk to help you, and by the professor's view....you get all screwed-up and feeling bad over the lock business.

First, I've never been in such a store, and by my Alabama-instinct....I'd probably get in a car...drive down, and want to see such a sight.

Second, the store didn't do this because customers were so nice and honest....they did it to send a message to certain customers....go elsewhere.

Finally, I would probably suggest this is the last 'fix' and these stores are on a list to shut-down within a year.  

This is plainly NOT the society that existed in the US prior to Covid and the 2020 election.  This is a wild group of folks, who have no control over themselves.

On my list of 100 things you need to see....to suggest 'civil-war' has arrived in America....the locking of the cases is probably in that one-hundred group.   

August 1977

 I would be wrapping up the 3rd day of boot-camp today (1977)....46 years ago.  

I'd come to ten observations by the close of today:

1.  The Air Force chow hall had the best grilled-ham-and-cheese sandwiches in the world.

2.  It was an incredibly stupid decision on my part to go off to basic training in early August, for San Antonio.  The heat was miserable.

3.  I had an incredible amount of trust when told to just bring $50 with me when leaving for basic training in 1977.

4.  The Air Force would issue to me tomorrow my ill-fitting cheap underwear.  I would immediately trash all of this crap the week after I wrapped up boot-camp.

5.  The recruiter said I just needed two changes of clothing in my bag.....he was wrong, I should have brought 5 days worth.

6.  There was one guy by the end of this day in my group, who was showing 'need-to-leave' issues.  He made it the 10th day before admitting it was too-much.  Some kind of GF issue.

7.  Some kid in the group was sipping through 6 glasses of Coke each evening for dinner....hyped-up to the max on the stuff.

8.  Quietly, I had a 42 day-calendar in the bottom of my locker....x-ing off each day.

9.  Haircuts were tomorrow, and it was an adventure to sit there and observe 40 guys getting a 90-second haircut.

10.  Around the barracks building....there were some of the biggest cockroaches I'd ever seen in my life.  

Observations

 1.  I sat and watched around 30 minutes of video from the riots in NY city from two days ago.  What basically happened?  Some influencer came on social media.....said he was going to give free stuff to juveniles/teenagers, and around 10,000 'kids' showed up in bad form....doing stupid stuff.

The funny thing? The cops tried their normal routine and got pushed back.

Yeah, just like in SF, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland and various other cities over the past five years.

I have this opinion....anyone (even right-wing types) could go these days and do a a riot episode, and probably crap all over the police, with nothing much happening.  Oh.....I wouldn't do this inside of a building....like the capital structure.  But I don't think the police have any ability to control rioting anymore.  

2.  If you went and spent $80,000 on a E-car.....to reach some break-even point where cost and electricity all made sense.....I think you'd need around 44 years to reach that point.  

3.  West Virginia AG pressing to have the DC court case moved over to WV.  Might be an interesting turn of events to have both DC and Virginia disqualified to hold the circus case.