Trump vs. the Grifter and the Phony

"But let me give you one caveat should you succeed in ruining this Presidency. Some day one of your guys might be sworn in again. Get what I am saying? Pay back is a bitch."  

I have had just about enough. Hate, hate and more hate. Even Jimmy Carter has complained about it. Carter said this President has experienced more headwinds from the lap dog press and Loony Left than any other President in history. I finally have found something I agree with Carter on. And the un-loyal opposition in this country will stop at nothing to ruin this man. They will go after his family, his honor (the Russian BS), his health and now his fitness for office. Stand by patriots - the goofballs and haters in Emerald City are about ready to dust of the 25th Amendment.

Not to rain on the lunatic's parade, but here it is in a nutshell. Donald J. Trump is our duly elected 45th President. As a self made man worth billions, he did not need this job. He went after it for one reason - he wanted to help Make America Great Again (MAGA). His idea? Nope. He was however, able to hear the crowd. Hear the message the crowd was sending. MAGA is the battle cry of not just Donald Trump - it is the battle cry of millions of patriots in this nation.

Here is what is going to happen should the Loony Left be successful in getting Trump removed from office. Or if Trump finally decides he and his family have had enough of this BS, and resigns. What will happen? Nothing. MAGA continues on. Stronger than ever. It will not be as easy without our champion - but President Pence will do fine. And Trump will forever be remembered as the one who lit the flame. 

For those who think Trump is that bad, did you really want a Grifter like Hillary Clinton in the White House? Really? Or a limp fraud like Obama? So America can once again be the doormat to every dictator who wants to torture or execute innocent people? NO! The people of America, the tax paying patriots, want a STRONG leader who can KEEP America Great Again! Trump was elected to start this juggernaut - and the juggernaut will be around after 4 years, after 8 years, or tomorrow, should Trump decides to leave office then.

Last night, just for the fun of it, I watched the unwatchable CNN. I wanted to see if they were still on their rant about "getting our President". They were. Two hours of Anderson Cooper with a panel of stooges to back him up. Blah, blah, blah. Never a bad word about the Grifter however, or her sex crazed husband. They are fine in the good book of progressives. 

So go ahead haters. Give the President your best shot. Like I said, he might get tired of your BS and just call it a day. Or he might tough it out and really make your life hell by continuing to improve our country. But let me give you one caveat should you succeed in ruining this Presidency. Some day one of your guys might be sworn in again. Get what I am saying? Pay back is a bitch.

p.s. On Bannon? Most of us were not nuts about having him in the White House from the get-go. Not to be trusted. With his book just being released, he has proved us correct. Now he will fade away, as Trump continues to ascend.   

The war for Social Security

"Talk to your Congressman. Your Senator (in MN, good luck with that one!). Your state Representatives and Senators. If any of them tell you, "Gosh, we would like to do it, but we just can't afford it", tell them to go suck an egg. It is our money damn it! Give it back!"

A word of warning before I start. This article might not be for you. It is only for people who are on Social Security, will be some day, have parents on it, friends on it, or care about tax justice. If you do not fall into any these categories, please go on to the next article. 

Great news folks! I am going on a spending spree today! I got a raise (COLA) in my Social Security this year! A 2% raise! What does that mean? After the uptick in a few dollars, offset by the increase in my Medicare payment, my monthly check went up $10.23. Big whoop. Of course, I should be grateful as in 2016 the COLA was .3% and the year before it was zero. 

When I was working, I never wanted Social Security to be deducted out of my paycheck. I knew it was a scam back then - I just did not know how much of a scam. I wanted the 15% my employer and I had to kick in every month. Working over 36 years at a good salary, that would have been quite a haul. I would have loved to have taken control for the future and  the growth of that money. 

But nobody was given the option to "opt out" of this government Ponzi Scheme. So here we are - stuck. Prior to the mid 80's however, it was not as bad. Why not? Social Security was not taxable from a Federal or State perspective. Now it is for Federal, and only a few states (like Minnesota) still tax the socks off their seniors, by taxing Social Security has harshly as the feds do.

Here is where the fairness comes into play. In the beginning, the IRS Social Security Commission made the determination Social Security should NOT be taxed. Then what happened? Bottom line? Both the feds and the states needed the money. And seniors were an easy target. But that was then, and this is now. Seniors are no longer such as easy target as we have wised up. Plus, our numbers have grown - we are now quite an army.

This year in 2018, our battle cry should be NO TAX what-so-ever on ANY Social Security. None. Do you want to give seniors a real raise rather than the zero, .3 and 2% they have seen lately? Take the tax off their benefits. Put them back to what they used to be - zero tax. That is the fair and the right thing to do.

Talk to your Congressman. Your Senator (in MN, good luck with that one!). Your state Representatives and Senators. If any of them tell you, "Gosh, we would like to do it, but we just can't afford it", tell them to go suck an egg. It is our money damn it! Give it back!

I Robot - coming soon!

"In seven years, when 2025 rolls around, I believe we are going to see changes we can't even imagine right now."

This is a bad news story for those who are afraid of the future. However, for those who embrace change, love technology, this is mother's milk. Today in the news was yet another story about the coming of robots and AI to ease our burdens. Not only ease our burdens, but do the mundane jobs which always seem to fall to the bottom. And for those who are fans of the bottom jobs getting $15/hour? Better wake up and smell the coffee.

Next week is the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It is when all the new toys get trotted out. LG Electronics out of South Korea wants to be an early leader in robotics. So, they will showcase three of their concept robots at the show to see what people think. Why robotics you may ask, when LG Electronics has captured so many other markets?

In seven years, when 2025 rolls around, I believe we are going to see changes we can't even imagine right now. LG Electronics can see the handwriting on the wall. With 800 million people in the world (about 1/8 of the world's population) having jobs which could be replaced by robot technology, that is a whole lot of cheddar for companies like LG Electronics.

Here is the rub. If LG Electronics can see this change coming, so can many other tech firms in California, New York, Washington state, China, Japan, and India. Get the picture? As we saw in the movie Passengers, the bar tending was done by a robot with an AI component. Far fetched? Maybe - or maybe not. 

In my working days, I was assigned to a project when I worked in advanced programs. This project dealt with robotics. Mind you, this was over 25 years ago. DARPA wanted to build a robotic arm which had all the functions of a human arm. The company I work for was responsible for the hand portion. Back then small servo motors and accelerometers could control this piece of machinery to either hold and egg without breaking it, or grasp a 60 lb weight firmly enough without dropping it. It was nothing less than jaw dropping. I can only imagine what that technology is like today. 

Are we entering a brave new world? I believe so. In seven years when 2025 rolls around, I believe we are going to see changes we can't even imagine right now. The folks at the bottom who work unskilled positions? We need to have training ready for them to go into jobs which don't even exist right now. If we don't? Then having an unemployment rate of a constant 25% might be the new norm. And that is not good for anyone. 

Beware of the "Button"

"If the United States ever really wanted you done with, you would never see it coming. We have the means to either take just you out, or your entire country. And you would never see it coming. Just be grateful that our President is not the nut ball that you are." 

Here it is, now 2018. We have had Donald Trump as our President for just about a year. We saw him on the campaign trail for about a year before that. One would think we would understand his modus operandi by now. Unfortunately, many don't. I know most in the press do not. Why do I say that? Trump constantly "tweaks" people. Mostly people he needs to have motivated. Like whom? Like the "Rocket Man" for example. Little Kim. Kim Jong-un, the brutal dictator of North Korea.

Unlike Obama, who was cowed by this little runt in North Korea, Trump like to play with him. For starters, Donald Trump is about a parsec or so smarter than Kim. Plus he has been around the block a few more times than Kim. He knows from his security briefings what Kim has in his hip pocket for arms. So when Kim says, "I have a nuclear button on my desk", as far as Trump is concerned, that was nothing more than a low hanging fast ball. How could he resist?

The funniest part however, when Trump responded by Tweet that "his nuclear button was bigger", was how the press reacted. "OMG! How could he say such a thing? How un-Presidential!" Note to press - Donald Trump is not Barack Obama. Trump will not be cowed or intimidated. Kim's boast was not worthy of a normal response, so he got a "tongue in cheek" response from Trump. As the old slang from yesteryear would say, "Trump pimped him". In other words, Trump was out to get Kim's goat.

For those who pay attention (not the press, as they never do), we know there IS NO SUCH THING AS A NUCLEAR BUTTON!!! Donald Trump, like Presidents before him, has a high ranked military man who accompanies him everywhere and carries the "nuclear football". For the President to authorize a nuclear strike, it is not as simple as just "pushing a button" like in Dr. Strangelove. Although I don't know what they are, I do know there are certain safeguards built in against a rouge or accidental launch.

This morning, some long haired hippy freak 80 year old Senator got up on the Senate floor  and accused the President of "malpractice" for bragging about his "button". Oh, did I mention this Senator has been in office since dirt was invented and he is also an East Coast progressive? It is a responsive like this, from the "Swampy Left", which will just about guarantee the President a second term, should he want it.

So heads up, Little Kim. Our "Button" is bigger and badder. Okay - if you want to know the real truth, here it is. If the United States ever really wanted you done with, you would never see it coming. We have the means to either take out just you, or your entire country. And you would never see it coming. Just be grateful that our President is not the nut ball that you are. 



  

EDL - Right or wrong for us?

"After all, the voting booth seems to be the only place left that 'trust me' seems to be used more than documented proof. Time to get this fixed."

Okay - I did it. I am now a good citizen, once again. Even though the good state of Minnesota has begged for many delays in implementation from DHS, I applied for, and then waited forever for, my Enhanced Driver's License (EDL). To say it was a pain in the drain is an understatement. To bring in the documentation, wait in line for a long, protracted period with a bunch of other disgruntled citizens, and then wait again until the New Year to finally receive it - yuck! 

But enough complaining. That is the former sailor in me coming out, once again. I now have it in my wallet, RFID chip and all, ready to go out and do ??? with it. According to the DHS website, these enhancements to our driver's licences are supposed to be the best thing since canned beer. However (comma), I have heard (and read), that many times they work as well getting across the boarder into Canada and Mexico as not having one at all. Many times a passport is still advised to have with at all times. 

Okay. So what gives? Why did I need to spend the extra $15 to get something which has questionable usage? Or does it? That is when I had a blast of common sense, which hit me like a wave on a Florida beach. 

Because I had to bring in extra identification to prove that I was me (so to speak), and it is supposed to be fool proof, this might be a perfect fix to really cut down on the voter fraud in this state (please - don't waste your time telling me there is none). That's right - time to resurrect the Voter ID issue. Trust me, I am as tired as the next guy at hearing from the Left that Voter ID is nothing more than voter suppression by the Right. Gag me with a spoon. 

Nope - even if this EDL never allows me easier access to Canada (and back again), having a better way to keep the frauds and felons out of the voting booth is well worth the $15. And by the way, with the stakes being as high as they are in this year's election, and having another DFL plant (who can turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to fraud) as our SOS, the opportunity for voter fraud will be enormous this year.

Now I have a RFID chip in my wallet. According some futurists, a time is coming when we will all have one implanted under our skin. To make sure this is just not another intrusive move by Big Brother, can we try to make some lemonade out this lemon? Like making the EDL a fool proof Voter ID tool? After all, the voting booth seems to be the only place left that "trust me" seems to be used more than documented proof. Time to get this fixed.  

  

Back to (semi) normal...

"To save Minnesota from the progressives, we have a ton of work to do. Someone asked me during the holidays why I bother. I bother because this is the state of my birth. It is where my kids and grand kids live."

As much as I like all the celebration and hub-bub that captures us all during the time from Thanksgiving until the last bowl game on New Year's Day is over, I have to admit I do also look forward to it being done. Why? Like many of us, I am trying to get back to normal - or should I say semi-normal. The new year is anxious to get started, and that can't happen until the holiday period is finished.

But what is normal? It sure is not northeast Florida where there is a winter storm watch today. As they say down south, "Well, that sure the heck ain't normal!" My wife plans to have a Bloody Mary event while she puts Christmas stuff away (yes, I will be pulled into that vortex!). Because of still having out of town guests yesterday, this annual New Year's Day tradition had to slip a day. So that is not normal either. 

Today, a young black man, with a lot of promise, takes over the reigns at St. Paul. This is historic, as he will be the first Afro-American elected to be the Mayor of St. Paul. At the same time, a young man about the age of my oldest daughter is taking over the mess in Minneapolis. His motto? Let's get our "swagger" back. Good luck with that Jacob. Might be better luck if you had at least one conservative in your city government. Right now, your are only one shade lighter blue than the rest of the Loons who run the place.

This would not be complete if we did not look at the new changes in California. Yes the land of the fruits and nuts is at it again. The almost Republican-less state legislature, under the leadership of "Moonbeam" Brown, has now authorized the entire state of California to be a "sanctuary state". What does that mean? More cases like the Kate Steinle murder, I am afraid. But who cares? With California's new marijuana law, everybody will be stoned and having the munchies anyhow. The once great state of Ronald Reagan, has devolved into nothing more than used toilet paper. 

Me? It is really "go time" for the 2018 campaign season. To save Minnesota from the progressives, we have a ton of work to do. Someone asked me during the holidays why I bother. I bother because this is the state of my birth. It is where my kids and grand kids live. I owe it to them. However, if we cannot pull this state back from the cliff this year, the landslide down into Gomorrah will be complete. And then I will exit this place, with great regret.

So today is "back to normal" day. Or should I say "semi-normal". In an event, the holiday season is over, and it is time to get on with getting on.  

2025: The death of driver's training

"In any event, I am not going to wish my life away, but I am keeping my eyes on 2025. To see how our technologies and life styles change. That being said, 2018 is the year we are just now starting to discover. And that, I will."  

All eyes are on 2025. 2025? What happened to 2018? Like, I just woke up and am trying to wrap my head around the fact it is a new year! For some reason, the year 2025 is being looked at as a "bell weather" year for the futurists. And 2025 (now) is a scant 7 years away. But in those 7 years many futurists believe, we will see more changes than in the past 100 years.

How much of a change are we headed into? I encourage you (should you have the time or inclination) to read some of the tech blogs penned by futurists. Much of it is very fascinating. However, one of the more intriguing predictions I have read is this - in that short 7 years, between now and 2025, young people might not be required to take driver's training any longer. Really? 

Really. Some economists are projecting that by 2025, the global driver-less car market (on a global scale) will be $42B - or larger. I know - that sounds like chump change compared to the $1.7T the auto industry is worth right now. But the point is, once driver-less cars start to make a dent in the market, they are expected to grab more and more market share every year. 

Now the question some futurists are asking is this - will we still need driver's training if the world is headed pell mell into the age of driver-less vehicles? Not just driver-less cars, but trucks and buses also. Will we still need to train over the road truckers? Bus drivers? Is this revolution going to be one which matches the Henry Ford revolution of the Model T? I think yes, and yes again. 

My grandson is turning 3 this month. Under normal circumstances, he would start driver's training in 12 years. But will he? Good question. I think there is a better than even chance that he will not need to. Maybe it will still be offered as an elective - or not.

Are we ready for this driver-less revolution? Ask a Millennial. Many of them are big time Uber fans. Many don't have cars. Many don't need cars. And many don't want cars. With driver-less cars, maintenance, storage, and the expense thereof are no longer required. No muss, no fuss. Need a ride? Get on your smart phone and schedule one. Once the ride is over, the driver-less car goes bye-bye.

In any event, I am not going to wish my life away, but I am keeping my eyes on 2025. To see how our technologies and life styles change as we approach that year. That being said, 2018 is the year we are just now starting to discover. And that, I will.