Sorting through the nuts and bolts of life...

"My goal for my grandson is to leave him not only with well organized tools which he will be able to use, but also some wisdom."

Sorry - this post is not going to be that type of profundity that one would only find in Psychology Today. No, this is more like the real nuts and bolts, and less like the "meaning of life" nuts and blots. Well - sort of. In any event, this has become a mission of mine for the month of August to sort things out on my workbench.

Over the years, from my Grandfather, my Father, my Father-in-Law, and me - I have accumulated a bunch of nails, screws, bolts, nuts, washers, and so forth. Most of which have found their way into my garage, or basement workbench in a very chaotic fashion. How were they organized? Short answer - they were not.

Not that I am thinking about cashing in my chips as yet, I have made a promise to myself that what I leave behind will not be a mess, nor a burden. Including my tools and - nuts and bolts. Will this be for my two son in laws? Nope - one has a nicely furnished workbench, and the other is just starting out (already gave him a screw gun). What I am doing now is for my grandson.

My goal for my grandson is to leave him not only with well organized tools which he will be able to use, but also some wisdom. Here is where a bit of the Psychology Today comes in. I not only want to help his parents teach him to do the right thing at the right time, I want to help teach him about the real America.

Our real history. Not some PC mumbo jumbo they might be teaching in the schools when he is old enough. In other words, I want not only to teach him about the nuts and bolts for what lands on his workbench - I want to teach him about the nuts and bolts of life. About where he lives and why. So he is solid. So he does not get cowed.

This the stuff which legacy is made of. It is not just the stuff on the workbench - it is advice and council. I received mine from my ancestors. And it is priceless. My duty is to pass that advice on, as well as I can, to those who follow me. Oh yes, one more thing. Those who follow me will also be getting some very organized nuts and bolts for their workbench. That is after all, what this is all about.  

Do you want to be a millionaire by 2020?

"Do you want to be a millionaire by 2020? Good luck with that one. And good luck with any other promise you might have heard in the past debates. Stay tuned - more promises coming!" 

Do you want to be rich beyond your dreams? Even though the year is over half over, I have a plan on how you can become at least a millionaire by 2020. No joke - I have a plan. Very little risk, very little work. What? You want details? You don't trust me? Relax. I have a plan. That is all you need to know. If you want any details, you will just need to vote for me for something. Anything.

Okay - I don't have a magical plan. But neither do any of the candidates running for President. When they say they have a plan for clean energy independence, climate change, trade justice, or reparations, they are full of hot air. If these vexing issues were solvable by hitting the easy button, they would have been solved a long time ago. But these are sticky and complicated problems, and not easily solved.

My only source of humor watching the debates (it sure was not from the sense of humor of the candidates), was hearing "My plan", or "I have a plan" from each of these clueless minions. Any plan they would have described, would have been more shallow than the song which won the Academy Award for best song (that be Shallow).  

This past weekend, we saw another example of this shallow thinking. Gun violence. This is probably the most vexing problem our country has had in many a year. The "easy" solution which is put up by just about every Democrat candidate is simply this - get rid of the guns. Then calm and peace will once again visit our land. WRONG! Getting rid of the guns from law abiding citizens, will leave only the law breakers owning guns. In case you have not noticed, outlaws don't give a wit about laws.

Entitlement reform is another VERY complicated issue. Hear any viable solutions as yet? Me neither. Getting off fossil fuels in the next ten years and not have brown outs or black outs? Won't happen. But who cares? This promise is a great talking point. It meets the narrative. This is what happens when there are no adults in the room.

Do you want to be a millionaire by 2020? Good luck with that one. And good luck with any other promise you might have heard in the past debates. Stay tuned - more promises coming! 

Whose fault is this carnage? Try Hitler.

"If Hitler could peer out of his grave right now, there would be a smile going from ear to ear. The country which led the Allies to put the 'D' in his defeat, is now coming apart at the seams. All in honor of his birthday."

Okay Bird! Have you had too early of a cocktail hour? What the heck are you talking about! Hitler? Really? Yes - really. Even though school shootings and mass killings have been going on for decades, let's be honest. The ball really got rolling with Columbine. And the two nut balls who pulled this massacre, were devoted followers of Adolf Hitler. So much so, they wanted their massacre to take place on Hitler's birthday.That one shooting, with all the notoriety it gave the nut balls, started the "copy cat express". 

One more thing. The latest gaggle of nut balls to perpetrate many of the mass shootings have been labeled to be "white nationalists". Although, some say they are socialists, like in Antifa. Then the question is raised - can one be a nationalist and socialist at the same time? Once again - let us go back to Hitler. Was he a nationalist? You better believe it! How about a socialist. Hmm - he was a Nazi, and Nazi was short for the National Socialist party.

Now today, less than 24 hours after the second mass shooting, the nation is once again tied up in knots. The gun grabbers are looking at this as another Rahm Emmanuel moment. The law abiding licensed gun owners are saying, "Don't you DARE come after me! We have done NOTHING wrong! And - we are never giving up our guns! We are not going to walk into a WalMart only being a target or prey for some deranged predator!"

Solutions? We have none so far. Will this be the last mass shooting? Nope. We have not done much of a root cause analysis as yet. All we have done is "guns, or no guns". Many folks much smarter than I, are now thinking this goes much, much deeper than that. Like this more about killing than guns. If guns go away, the urge to kill will be replaced by knives, poison, bombs, hands and feet, sticks and stones, bludgeoning, or whatever. 

If Hitler could peer out of his grave right now, there would be a smile going from ear to ear. The country which led the Allies to put the "D" in his defeat, is now coming apart at the seams. All in honor of his birthday. And our lawmakers are SO STUPID, they can't seen the forest through the trees. Take the guns away from the law abiding citizens, and we can once again go back to smelling pretty flowers and watching butterflies. No more mass killings - ever. FOOLS! This is who we elect! Find the real problem! This is not normal, and has NOTHING to do with our gun rights!

I am afraid this stork dance will continue, on and on. I am putting the blame squarely on LBJ for breaking up the family unit, and Hollywood for romancing violence. BTW - I am also blaming Democrats for replacing God with self. Bad move. Bad, bad move all around. 

The Downsizing Conundrum...

"So every week, I continue to try to find things suitable for donation, the garbage can or recycle can. As I am getting a meager amount out the back door, some new stuff always finds its way in the front door."

Yo! Baby Boomers! This is mostly for you! What I am about to tell you might be old news to many, and new news to some. But it is the truth. It is something of which few of us ever expected. Something our parents did not warn us about, as it did not exist when they were our ages. I am talking about downsizing. How hard it is, as our kids totally turn they backs on our (valuable?) stuff.

First a word about the Greatest Generation - that be the Boomer's parents. I will be specific and talk about my parents. They were blessed to have lived to 90 (Dad), and beyond (Mom). I am convinced my Dad thought he was going to live forever. Married for 66 years, they lived in the house they loved for 50 of those great years. Never had a garage sale, never took too many things to Good Will. Everything was going along great, until my Dad developed throat cancer at 89. He died right after turning 90.

My sister and I convinced Mother it was time to sell the house. Since nothing had ever been downsized, it became up to us (mostly me) to decide what was saved, what would be sold (if anything), what would be donated, and what would be tossed. So many things ended up in the last category, I had to hire a roll off garbage trow to sit in my parent's driveway while I filled it to the brim with "stuff". Eventually we got the house sold, Mom moved in with us, along with a heck of a lot of her remaining stuff.

Flash forward to today. Items which have been treasures of my parents, grandparents, and beyond, are looked upon as clutter-able trash by our daughters. Everything we have tried to give them something in a "downsizing" move, we get either a "no thank you", "pass", or "are you kidding me?" So downsizing has been a chore.

My oldest daughter has been the least of help. Besides taking practically NOTHING of ours, it seems like every time she comes over, she reminds us of our advancing age and how much stuff we still have. "You guys should really downsize some more." Duh! We are trying to! But it is hard.

The problem is, we all get attached to things. Many of those things are items we will never use again. But we know if we let them go through donation, sale or throw away, there might be that one in a million chance we will need them again at some time. So every week, I continue to try to find things suitable for donation, the garbage can or recycle can. As I am getting a meager amount out the back door, some new stuff always finds its way in the front door. AHHH!!!!!!!

This afternoon, I will be cleaning, organizing and tossing once again in the garage. Yesterday was the basement. I am sure I speak for many of us Boomers when I say this - it is the basements and garages which become the biggest magnets for "stuff". The piles of "I will get to this later" and things like that. Well, that "later" is now, and it is time to get busy.

Some take the quick way out. Close their eyes, plug their nose, and call 1-800-GOT JUNK, or some company like that. For a fee, they will come out and take this burden from you. That might after all, be the "easy button".

In any event, I know this issue is near and dear to many of us. I have talked to some friends who absolutely agree with the conundrum of stuff. Wish me luck, as I dive into the never ending pile once again today. And tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. It never ends.

"Star Wars" - Revisited

"Most wanted our "Star Wars" back then (SDI), and well as our new "Star Wars" to ELIMINATE any threat of a nuclear exchange, or a rogue launch. If our new technology can do that, it will be worth every penny we put into it."  

One of the biggest bluffs of all time, was Reagan's threat to unleash the "Star Wars" program during the Cold War. This mythical program, would have made the ICBM threat just about obsolete. And without the ICBM threat, the concept of MAD (mutually assured destruction) was over. Then when the threat of MAD was over, so would be the Cold War.

Flash forward to today. With the expiration of the INF treaty this week, and the introduction of hypersonic missiles, we are now in a whole new ball game with the Russians. The concept of MAD has not been discussed for decades, and way too many people on both sides think a nuclear exchange might be "winnable". With that kind of insane thinking, where does that leave us?

While our main deterrent against an incoming enemy missile is still the BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense), it remains "shooting a bullet with a bullet".  In other words, even though our shore based BMD, as well as our sea based BMD (AEGIS weapon system), keeps improving and getting more capable, it remains a "Hail Mary" should an attack happen. 

What is going to happen in the near future, is straight out of Buck Rogers. It is "Star Wars" on steroids. It is going to be a combination of new and developing technologies to counter any enemy missile attack. But the technology which seems to be getting the most buzz right now, is the laser. Better known as the "speed of light" missile deterrent.

Now, lasers are not new. Plus, they have been considered for years for use in the battlefield. But every time they were considered, that idea fell short. Too heavy, too much power required, too this, too that. Now after years of research, coupled with some breakthrough technologies, both the Air Force and the Navy are on the verge of fielding laser weapons. The first sea born laser might be used on the USS Zumwalt, which will make this spooky looking ship, look and act even spookier. The airborne version should be ready to be used on 6th generation fighters. 6th generation fighters will be the version right after the F-22 and F-35. 

There are other things also being cooked up as possible additions to this new version of "Star Wars". Directed energy weapons, such as microwaves and particle beams, and of course, the long awaited rail gun. All of these weapons have been worked on for decades, but the wait time was for the technology to catch up. How to get maximum punch, from maximum power, using a minimal footprint. And like with our laser programs, we are just about there.

My hope today is the same as it was in the 1980's before the Cold War ended. Most wanted our "Star Wars" back then (SDI), and well as our new "Star Wars" programs to ELIMINATE any threat of a nuclear exchange, or a rogue launch. If our new technology can do that, it will be worth every penny we put into it.  

More tales of OPM (Other People's Money)

"Will DHS ever get their poop in a group? How about the Department of Education? No and no. Why not? OPM and the DFL. Those go together like peanut butter and jelly."

When I was in the business world, and traveled quite a bit of the time (while living on expenses), I lived differently than when I was on vacation. Besides for having to work while on business and not on vacation, how I looked at the menu while dining out was different. If the company was paying, and I was staying under my per diem limit, what the hey! Order what ever looked good! However, when on vacation, it always was what is affordable, and fits into the vacation budget. I was not alone. Most of my companions did the same.

Government workers have long had the reputation of being fast and loose with tax payer money. Why? Not their money. I dare say how they handle tax payer money is quite a bit different than how they handle their own. HOWEVER - the kind souls at Minnesota's DHS have taken this malfeasance to a whole new level. It is not just a cavalier attitude with OPM (Other People's Money), there is also potential graft involved.

If you are asleep at the switch long enough, the out-roar will finally be loud enough to get you re-assigned. Not fired, but re-assigned. Thank you for your years of service, Carolyn Ham! I am happy we have found a perch for you, so you can continue to sit on your butt and do squat. But don't worry - it is only OPM which is paying her salary.

Jim Nobel (one of the only people in Minnesota Government which is worth his salt) has found yet another misuse of taxpayer money. Seems DHS sent about $25M of money that should not have been sent, up to one of the tribes. I know - with the way this state spends money, $25M is "chump change". But that "chump change" still comes out of taxpayer's pockets. 

By the way, as a brief aside, do you know WE CAN'T AFFORD TO GIVE OUR HARD WORKING SENIORS A BREAK ON TAXING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY? Why not? Because we have too much fraud, waste and abuse. Can't afford the Social Security fix. Taxing Timmy and his merry band of do nothings refuse to fix the fraud and graft. But don't worry - Taxing Timmy wants even MORE tax money next funding session. Why? It is only OPM.

This drives me crazy - almost enough to use bad language. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP! Jeff Johnson had a great plan on how to fix this. And he was enough of a manager and mechanic, he would have done it. Hired the right kinds of people to be in his administration. People just like him - fixers. Not "do nothing" DFL tools like Ms. Ham. Meanwhile, taxes are killing the middle class in this state, especially our seniors. 

Will DHS ever get their poop in a group? How about the Department of Education? No and no. Why not? OPM and the DFL. Those go together like peanut butter and jelly. We could have had a GREAT governor who would have stemmed the tide. But the mindless minions voted for another DFL statist instead. Why? You tell me.

"Smoked Joe"

"Before the next debate in September, the Clown Car is going to lose some clowns. Shame. Some that will be gone (like de Blasio) have provided some good comic relief."

Excuse me! You made a typo in the title. His nickname (other than "Sleepy Joe"), is "Smoking Joe". That is true. However, it is not a typo. For last night, Joe Biden got smoked. There is an old saying, no matter how fast you can run, you can't outrun your past. And since Biden has been in Washington since the Civil War, he has a whole lot of past to chose from. That is exactly what happened last night.

Instead of Donald Trump, for a while it looked like Joe Biden was on trial. Only this time it was more than Harris who was doing the damage. It was like a pile on. Oh, and the President took some hits also. Not President Trump - President Obama. Unlike the first night of debates, which featured the tag team of Warren and Sanders, last night it was Joe Biden, standing all by himself. Taking a whole bunch of incoming artillery.

Who was my favorite last night? Governor Inslee of Washington. Somewhat of an unknown outside of his home state, last night was a good chance to take a close look at this nut ball. He has become today's ALGORE. He is now the number one climate change nut. Actually, he is followed closely by Andrew Yang. Whereas Inslee said we are too late, and "our house is already on fire", Yang wants federal funding to move our coastal population to higher ground. Even though some of the Left concede that China is the biggest culprit in emissions, last night we heard we need a President who can "show leadership in this climate crisis". 

Twice last night, before Spartacus piled on the Biden scrum, he chided the rest of the group. "Do you know who is loving this right now? That this is Democrat against Democrat? Donald Trump." Well, he was probably right on that one. However, Cory seems to have a short memory. In the Republican debates leading up to the 2016 election, the infighting between candidates was legendary and cringe worthy. Like, anyone remember, "Lying Ted"? Or "Small Hands" coming from Marco? None of that kept Donald Trump from becoming President.

Before the next debate in September, the Clown Car is going to lose some clowns. Shame. Some that will be gone (like de Blasio) have provided some good comic relief. I also think Amy and the psychic will also be gone. I am sure there will be others. 

Tonight, there will be no Democrat scrum to entertain me. But there will however, be the Hall of Fame game. Yes! At long last, football is back! Then instead of Democrats pilling on each other, I can watch multi-millionaire football players do the same. What a country!