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.

Four Q-an-A

 For the  past week, I've noticed the term 'due-processs'....getting mentioned a good bit.  So to four facts:

1.  Does due-process have to be accomplished by a judge?

NO.  Some people probably believe this....but you can't find too many rules that say this in plain-simple language.

2.  Can due-process be accomplished strictly by a lawyer?

Well....no....in fact, you don't even need a four-year degree....to be a due-process official.  You could just as well designate some Army Captain, or supervisor of a border-control station with due-process authority.  You will find in various European countries that deportation due-process rests with a border-control 'boss' (not a judge).

3.   Are we taking due-process too far?

Well....eventually your 13-year old kid (Marvin) will get into school trouble, and Marvin facing disciplinary woes....will demand due-process...over and over....saying that merely a teacher issuing an order is not enough, and even a principal is not capable.

4.  Won't Trump eventually react and say no federal judge has the capacity to issue a ruling on due-process?

Well...yeah, it's conceivable. Maybe our whole democracy now rests on everyone getting a minimum of five due-processes....for everything we might stand accused of.  

Four Things That Amaze Me

 1.  It is truly amazing....in one single week, CNN and a dozen-odd networks go out and find at least 300 'experts' on gangs, MS-13, and tattoo symbiology.

2.  I've reached a point where I believe the actual President of the United States from early 2023 to January 2025....was Jill Biden.  I'm not saying it's a bad thing....just that the reality of believing this is amazing.

3.  It's now figured....around 2-million Americans have some type of opioid-use-disorder.  So you can figure in a typical 24-hour day....you probably will bump into at least two folks with this 'condition'.

4.  I've reached a level where if I'm given any information by a political figure....I immediately discount it as a fact, until I can research it myself. Yeah, it's consuming an hour of my free time each day.  

Five Humble Thoughts

 1.  I think everyone should have the right to multiple 'due-processes'....until they get the judgement they believe is 'correct'.  Even if it takes 14 years to reach the right-decision.

2.  I think by 2032's Presidential election....more than 40,000 Americans will be on the payroll somewhere....serving as audience-members, and bused from  political-event to political-event....making over $32,000 a year in this capacity.

3.  At some point, the Harvard University management will wake up and suddenly realize....with gov't funding.....they can't survive.  At that point, yearly tuition will flip to $125,000 a year.

4.  This Luigi Mangione-character....indicted on federal charges for the murder of United Healthcare CEO....is now eligible for the death penalty.  Even if given the  death penalty....it could take 20 years for all appeals to conclude.

5.  I watched a news piece this week....roughly two-percent of Trump voters from 2024....regret their action now.

Oddly, two-percent of Harris-voters....also now regret their voting action.  

DC Chatter

 I was reading through DC news this AM, and this odd topic came up....restaurant  failures in DC.  

A study was released in the past week....stating around 44 percent of restaurants were on the verge of failure. 

What was causing the trend?  Three basic things: inflation, no willing nature to pay higher prices, and credit card swipe fees increasing.

I lived in the region for 3.5 years (2010 to 2013).  I would make a blunt statement here....suggesting that roughly half the restaurants in the region were marginally worth eating at.  You'd sit through a dinner....grumbling over the quality, and then get the $25-to-$35 bill.  

The worst experience?  At a military enlisted club (I'll leave the location out)....to eat Thanksgiving dinner.....priced at $99, and noting about 2 minutes into the dinner....it was entirely cooked in some funny Asian style.