How I View The End Of The Joe-Show

 1.  I suspect there is a massive amount of hostility/anger brewing within Biden....over how various 'friends' turned against him in the past couple of months, to push him out.  I don't think you will see much of him here over the next three months.  He will make a brief showing at the Convention, then avoid public appearances.  

2.  Hunter?  Well....the profit years are ended. 

3.  Kam....as a supported candidate?  I think you will get four weeks of her testing the waters, and find that very few are that happy.  By the start-up of the Convention....she fails on the first ballot, and we get four hours of tense chatter....ending up with either Whitmer or Newsom as the pick.

I'll also say....I think the exit strategy that President Obama gave Joe Biden....was that he was not to give Kam his 'nod'.  I think Joe looked at the BS and said....you know what....let me screw up your Convention strategy.  

4.  The Biden  period until January?  It will be very unremarkable and you might discover the news folks (particularly MSNBC and CNN) avoiding mention of him or what he did during the day.

5.  Finally, in a couple of states, I think RFK Jr picks up steam.  This will be part  of the reason why Kam is dumped at the Convention.  

My 3 Predictions Over The Trump Shooting

 1.  Somehow....the FBI will come to admit that a state-trooper for PA....got off 3 or 4 shots at the sniper, and no one from the Secret Service knew the placement of the state-trooper sniper or that he fired.  They will try to say this PA state-trooper was another 200 yards behind the shooter.  

2.  The Secret Service will admit that they had a team there of mostly replacement personnel who had never trained with actual Secret Service.   Why....will never be really admitted upon.  

3.  Whoever selected this site (within Trump's team)....was an idiot, and this selection failed various logical requirements.   

Then the whole report will be folded up and filed.  Nothing will come from this whole effort (at least in 2024).

If you expect a Oswald-type conspiracy?  It's probably there, but you won't reach that level until early 2025.  

How The RNC Ended

 After Trump ended his speech....the music started up.

If you aren't into opera....you were sitting there and shaking your head.  The choice of music?  Nessun Dorma.  It's a opera-piece.

Where you  heard it before?  At the end of the movie....'Sum of All Fears'.  

2002 movie....where the world is in chaos, and the President has been targeted....along with the head of Russia.

In the 2nd half of the movie, you figure out that various Russians and Americans have conspired to take down both governments.   Our American-made James Bond (Jack Ryan, played by Ben Affleck) has figured out all the bad guys, and saved the day.

But in the final two minutes.....Nessum Dorma comes on, and every bad guy has been hunted down and terminated....quietly.

So Trump stood on the stage and allowed the 'bad guys' to have a warning about what is to happen later.  He didn't say nothing....he didn't blame any group....he didn't say what suffering they might get.  

Sum of All Fears?  I've probably watched it ten times.  It's one of those movies that sticks to you....making you skeptical of good and bad intentions.  

If I were among the people who crapped upon a number of folks for the past eight years....I might start to get motivated....to quietly disappear (into Costa Rica or Belize).  

Just odd....the way that this message was sent...via Nessum Dorma. 

Five Observations

 1. I sat and watched a financial podcast this AM.....talking over his experience in trying to get cash yesterday (with the IT failure), and failing.

So he got onto the subject of FDIC, and the long-winded discussion of expected bank failure (either at the end of 2024 or into the spring of 2025).  He says....with some facts....FDIC is crapped-out, and will be unable to sustain this approaching failure.

What he expects?  About 3 or 4 days into this national bank-failure trend....Congress will pass a measure to enable FDIC to  'tax' US banking institutions...allowing them to 'grab' your savings/checking funds to a certain percentage....maybe 5-percent....maybe 10-percent.....which would float over into FDIC....to keep banks solvent.

I pondered over this.  If I had $3,000 total in my checking/savings....I probably wouldn't grumble much.  If I had $150,000....yeah, I would not appreciate losing $15,000 of my money.  If I had half-a-million....losing $50,000 would really peeve me.

He has a point....in that FDIC was never designed to handle massive bank failure.   I suspect he also has a point in that taking wealth who can afford it....is the only way to save these banks.  But the closer we get to this day, and it becomes apparent.....wouldn't half of society rush up to their bank and ask for $100,000 in cash....to hide in some basement or barn or garage?

Crazy times.

2.  Exit deal for Biden?  Based on chatter....he's peeved about all the talk and doesn't want to exit.

Governor Whitmer of Michigan....now leading in some polls as the replacement?  

3.  Odd statistic.....more men paying off their college loans....than women, based on the fact that more men took engineering degrees.

4.  Polling done after the assassination attempt.....80-percent of people say the country was 'out-of-control'.   

5.  Some polling in NY state says it's flip-possible to Trump now.  It would shock  a lot of  Democrats.

Five Observations

 1.  This dead 20 year old shooter....was an American-made James Bond.  With zero bomb or special forces experience....he was somehow able to build a bomb with a remote detonator.  Then he sneak across a field with a rifle and 12-foot ladder (past Secret Service), then gained access to a rooftop across from the president and shoot him without extra help.

2.  If some idiot made a slogan up that said 'Make McDonalds Great Again'.....half the nation would be focused on destroying McDonalds.  The sad truth is that McDonalds from 20 years ago....was better than today.

3.  Imagine you've been out all day....tired....hopping to impress your girlfriend with a Mexican dinner.....then in the middle of this....President Biden shows up and shakes hands with both of you.  Then three hours later....on the radio....you hear that Biden tested positive for Covid.

4.  Some polling group did a weird poll....asking Democrats....do you believe  the assassination attempt was faked-up?  Almost one-third said 'Yes'.

5.  Bank of America did a survey.....Gen-Z 'kids'....around 50-percent of them....get some type of financial compensation from the family.   Wouldn't surprise me.....even at age 40....they probably will still get some type of compensation.

My Larry Story

 Back around 2007 to 2010...I worked in a (just at the secret level) vault....as a contractor.  My office had 4 desks, but there were just two of us there.  One day....my military 'boss' came up and said 'such-and-such' organization (in a top secret vault) had a new contractor to arrive but his clearance wasn't ready yet.  He asked if we'd house 'Larry'.  I said sure.

The next day....'Larry' arrived.  He had retired out of the Army (20 years) and been hired as a contractor.  

I got 'Larry' set up....desk, phone, computer account.

For about a week...'Larry' would show up at 7:30 AM and work till around 4 PM....then quietly exit.  

The 2nd week...'Larry' would arrive at 8 AM, and exit around 2 PM.

The 3rd week....'Larry' would  arrive at 8 AM and leave for the German cantina for a beer or two for lunch....but never come back (period).

The 4th week, 'Larry' would show up around 9 AM...stay for an hour and leave for home.

My co-worker and I discussed this each morning....especially the whole 2nd and 3rd month....where he never showed up.

Around the end of the 6th month....this organization that had been paying 'Larry' (he probably cleared $8k a month)...suddenly woke and realized that they had a guy to fill a billet and they just never had done the clearance paperwork.

So they called over to the company office, and they called me....where is 'Larry', and I responded he's probably at his cellphone.  

The next day....'Larry' went back to work....real work.

The bitter side of this story?  Well...'Larry had developed alcohol problems over six months of hanging out daily at the German cantina on base.  He'd leave the real job around noon....drink two beers and some some German schnapps.  He'd show back at real work after 90 minutes...smelling of booze.

After about two months of warning him....the company wrote up papers...firing 'Larry'.  

It's  hard to know who to blame....either Larry, the company, or the Air Force....for just allowing him to goof off. 

Flag Story

 Based on 1,000-odd flag ceremonies I've attended while in the Air Force and working at the Pentagon....this flag episode at Trump's  speech on Saturday came to be an odd thing.

In the hour prior to him arriving....wind picked up and flipped the flag into an unusual pattern....some say it was like an angel spreading it's wings.

To be honest, in all the flag episodes I've ever seen.....it just never turns up....flipped like this....in the shape of a bird's wings or angel.

A sign?  There's probably been about a dozen times when I've seen something occur or develop....like a sign, and I've typically stood there for a minute....thinking.  Yeah....in most cases....I've eventually decided something ain't right and just walked away. 

In this case?  Maybe it is just the wind.  But things like this typically don't happen.