Winter, south of the Mason Dixon Line

"And the lesson learned once this mess on I-95 was over? The same lesson we should have learned after Hurricane Katrina. Help is not coming. We always need to be prepared to take care of ourselves."

Many years, we have traveled down to Florida in January and February. We did not last year, as Covid was on the scene, and the place we usually stay was not accepting guests. This year are not going either. Our choice, due to the continuing spread of Covid. But the years we have driven down to Florida, we always needed to keep a wary eye on the weather. Why? You name it, it can happen in the winter time. Anything from snow storms, to ice storms, to twisters. 

What happened last week on I-95 in Virginia should be a wakeup call to most of us. People not expecting much of a problem driving through Virginia, all of sudden, had a big problem. So big, it is fortunate nobody died. And the lesson learned once this mess on I-95 was over? The same lesson we should have learned after Hurricane Katrina. Help is not coming. We always need to be prepared to take care of ourselves.

I found it interesting to listen to some of the folks who were stranded for almost a full day on that interstate. No food, no water, no bathroom. Some ran out of gas, and had to shiver for hours in a cold car. Most of us who grew up in Minnesota, have been schooled on what to have in your car "just in case". Many folks south of the Mason Dixon line - have not. Whereas snow in January is about as common as Robins in the springtime in Minnesota, snow is very uncommon in the south. It can happen, but it is not common.

One year, we traveled down to Florida a bit later in the winter season. It was still winter in Minnesota, but we hit tornado season down south. I will never forget the ugly, foreboding skies in Mississippi when the sirens went off. We were literally being chased by twisters, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. However, once we got to I-10, the skies cleared and the temperature soared. 

In short, we have driven though just about every kind of weather on our travels down to Florida. Everything - except snow. But our trips to and from Florida are all part of the story. And without stories to tell, what do we have to share? Just ask the Bird...

 

The Ashli Babbitt, Kim Potter conundrum

"I really hope we don't have to go through this charade again next January 6th. The nation will not be able to tolerate it. I will not be able to tolerate it. Very few (if any), of the folks I hang with will be able to tolerate it." 

Now that we have seen the DNC lollapalooza called the January 6th event, I think it is time to put one of the ancillary events of that day into context. Ashli Babbitt. Shot in cold blood. In the face. Ashli Babbitt. Air Force veteran. Unarmed protester. Killed by a cop with a spotty record. A black cop, killing a white woman. A cop whom we all know by name. Who was exonerated for the cold blooded murder of this innocent protester. 

In Minnesota, we just had the trial of Kim Potter. A white cop, who served in the same city for 26 years. A white cop with a spotless record. She accidently used the wrong weapon when a young black man, tried to escape arrest. A young black man who had an outstanding warrant for a weapons charge. She was tried, and convicted of both first and second degree manslaughter. She could spend a decade or decade(s) in prison. For making a mistake. One which she deeply regrets.

One cop, who killed an unarmed protester, is now lionized by the federal government. A hero. The other cop, who killed an escaping felon, is demonized by the Minnesota socialist AG, as well as the MSM. I have been trying to square this circle, but it is very hard for me. Actually, impossible. This conundrum (in my mind), can only be solved by doing one or both of two things. 1) Drop all charges against Kim Potter, and reinstate her as a Brooklyn Center cop, and/or 2) Try Lt. Byrd (the Capitol Police cop), for murder. If we don't do either of these, our two tiered system of justice, will continue to show itself.

The headline in the Drudge Report yesterday, as well as some things I heard on the media, had a very true, but stark warning. Thanks to the vile and corrupt speech that Biden and his Veep gave (my words), we are now more divided than ever. We are more divided than ever, there is a cop who is in jail who should not be, and we have a killer cop is on the loose in WDC.

What then, is the state of our state in January 2022? We got rid of the "mean tweeter" last year, in exchange for a "uniter". What did we really get? A weak, confused old man, whose hatred of President Trump (and those who support him), has created a stench which is corroding the lynchpins or our great Republic. Biden is 100 times more the divider than a uniter. For that reason alone, he is toxic to our country. I guess the joke (if you can call it a joke), is on us.

I really hope we don't have to go through this charade again next January 6th. The nation will not be able to tolerate it. I will not be able to tolerate it. Very few (if any), of the folks I hang with will be able to tolerate it. If Biden and Harris really want to help us right now, just zip it. Now that - would really help from our President (and his Veep). 

 

Insurrection day? Or insurrection season?

"Will I ever be able to mourn on January 6th like the left does? Maybe - it any of them ever account for the summer of insurrection. Is one as bad as the other? No. In orders of magnitude, the summer of insurrection was much worse." 

Question - what is the left's favorite word these days? If you guessed insurrection, you win a prize. Many on the left are very put out with conservatives, that we are not embracing this day as a national holiday (like they are). You know, kind of like 9/11, only without the trillion dollar  damage and a high body count. But take heart my socialist friends - we do recognize the fact that this nation did indeed have an insurrection. Only it was not a day - it was a season. 

First off, let me repeat what many on my side of the street have said, time after time. The stunt, which was pulled on January 6, 2021, was wrong. People on the conservative side who were cowed or convinced this was the right way to go - were wrong. Plus, there might have been outside agitators involved.

That being said, it understandable the frustration many of the protesters must have felt. People they elected, were not listening to them. They looked at the Capitol Building, and the White House, as the "people's house". A few wanted to do damage - most just wanted to be heard. They wanted Congress to make sure the election was fair. And overthrow their government? Give me a break.

For any laws which were broken by the protesters, the protesters alone, need to be held accountable. Not the rest of us citizens and patriots. For the cold blooded murder of Ashli Babbitt, the troubled cop who killed her needs to be brought to justice.

As far as our Attorney General with the vendetta and the goofy voice, we owe Mitch McConnell a note of gratitude for keeping Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court. Garland would have made the WORST Supreme Court Justice - ever!

The real insurrection which has NEVER been addressed, is the brazen attack on our cities during the summer of 2020. Antifa, BLM, and out and out trouble makers, were just waiting for an excuse like the George Floyd incident, to riot. Not only riot, but also loot, burn and destroy. What unfolded in most of our big blue cities was carnage, straight out of a dystopian novel. Whereas January 6th was a few hours of very bad judgement by a few, the summer of 2020 was non-stop mayhem by many. 

In Minneapolis, which was ground zero for the summer of insurrection, over 1,000 businesses were destroyed. A MPD precinct was burned to the ground, with cops running for their lives. Over 1/2 billion dollars worth of damage was done, just in Minneapolis alone. Nationwide, the cost of the summer of insurrection was over $2B, with 25 people killed. Cops were shot, some were killed. Unlike January 6th, where the only person killed was Ashli Babbitt. 

Will I ever be able to mourn on January 6th like the left does? Maybe - it any of them ever account for the summer of insurrection. Is one as bad as the other? No. In orders of magnitude, the summer of insurrection was much, much worse. 

One final thing as a point of history. Then President Trump requested that the Speaker of the House activate some National Guard assets to assist the Capitol Police prior to January 6th. Ms. Nancy refused. I have often wondered how January 6th would have turned out if Pelosi had activated the National Guard that day. I dare say not much would have happened, and this day would be remembered as just another cold day in January.

The scars from the summer of insurrection however, remain. Parts of Minneapolis are still wasted - left to be rebuilt. Many of the guilty remain free and unpunished. But that is our America today. Two tiers of justice. November cannot come fast enough. 

Our New Pariah

"All our issues, from the mess on the southern border, to our retreat from Afghanistan, to the price of just about everything - rests on your doorstep, Joe Biden. Or should I just say - 'Big Government's' doorstep also."

Oh, boy. How fast the powerful (or not so powerful), can fall. What in the world has happened to Joseph Biden? The "golden boy" of the left. Okay - not so golden. But he seemed to be the only one who could upset Trump's apple cart. After all, Biden did get (allegedly), 80 million votes. 80 million suckers, who either voted for a senile old man, or against the "mean tweeter". And as Oliver Hardy would say to Stan Laurel, "Now look at the kettle of fish you (80 million suckers) have gotten us into!"

Biden's approval numbers are falling faster than Minnesota snow in January. The only group his approval numbers are not falling with, are conservatives. Why? His numbers have been low with us since the get-go. But with his own party? Especially the socialist wing of his party? They would love to "deep six" Biden, and have him replaced with a fine socialist like Bernie or Liz Warren. As one of the progressives recently said about Biden, "He is just an old guy who can't keep his promises." What was that? It was a brief moment of clarity by the other side.

Biden is so owned, so compromised, his vision, so vapid and insipid, and his character so flawed, he takes no ownership for any of the messes we have right now. The ones of his own creation. For example, the other day he was talking about his recent vacation to his homeland. "My wife, her sister, and friend MaryAnn went to the grocery store the other day. Do you know, a pound of ground beef costs five bucks?" Like, no s**t, Sky King. Then Biden went on to blame - himself? No way, Jose. He blamed "Big Meat". They are stifling completion, and thereby raising their prices. Gouging. Not the cost of fuel (Biden's fault), feed or fertilizer (Biden's fault). This is all on "Big Meat".  

The 60% increase in gas? "Big Oil". That is who is at fault. The increase in the cost of meds. "Big Pharma". The increase in the cost of fruits and veggies? "Big Ag". The list goes on and on and on. But guess what Joe? The American public, conservatives, independents, and yes, even some Democrats, are wise to your stick. All our issues, from the mess on the southern border, to our retreat from Afghanistan, to the price of just about everything - rests on your doorstep, Joe Biden. Or should I just say - "Big Government's" doorstep also.

It is reported that AOC has recently tweeted out she was afraid that you, Joe Biden, because you are so unpopular with just about everyone, was going to set up the party for a HUGE defeat this November. Kind of like what the pollsters are saying. The only question is this - a small bloodbath, or a huge bloodbath. We have every confidence in Joe Biden, he can make it a really, really YUGE ONE!

Minnesota on the brink

"Okay Star/Tribune - you want us to change, we can do that. Man up, as the first thing we need to do is change our government. YOU can help by NOT endorsing idiots, like you do every year."

It is 2022. The year Soylent Green was suppose to have happened. Oh, joy. In the Strib this morning, there is an editorial about Minnesota needing a turn around. I would have loved to have read it, but they are putting the screws to folks who do not subscribe (that is me). I was however, able to read the tag line to the article. It said something like Minnesota needs a "turn around", as crime is rising, and the state is losing residents and businesses. Ya think? 

Usually, we hear about the bluer states, like New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois. They have crime issues, plus horrific tax bases which makes is almost impossible to live in those states. And where are the domestic migrants going? The usual suspects. Florida. Texas. Tennessee. Arizona. 

Where does that leave us? The cold and old ones, who are still here? After our last statewide election, much of the wind was taken out of our sails. Why? We had a tremendous slate of candidates running for office. Maybe the most qualified ever. And guess what? They all lost. Lost to losers. It was not the fault of the candidates we ran. It was however, the fault of the electorate in two very populous counties. With the results of that election, Minnesota continued to slip down the slope of mediocracy.

What can we do to turn things around? With the weather - nothing. We and the polar vortex are stuck with each other. But here is what we can do. We can elect enough adults (conservatives) in November, to change the trajectory in St. Paul. When I say enough, I mean taking control of the Minnesota House, keeping the Minnesota Senate, and most importantly - getting the Governor's chair. 

Next, once we wrestle control away from the socialists, we MUST fix our tax system. How so? Social Security needs to be tax free for our seniors. That would be huge. Then, restore our DMV vehicle license taxes, to what they were under Jessie Ventura. Our corporate tax rate needs to cut in half, as well as our top individual tax rate. We should look to states like South Dakota, and find out how they do it. Heck, even Wisconsin for Social Security. They got rid of the Social Security tax on seniors, and somehow, they stayed afloat.

Okay Star/Tribune - you want us to change, we can do that. Man up, as the first thing we need to do is change our government. YOU can help by NOT endorsing idiots, like you do every year. Minnesota is no longer the shining North Star it once was. It is now a falling star - or a fallen star. Good luck Minnesota - you are going to need it. 

 

Making water in 2022

"The list goes on and on for what we can do better. The fact remains, the desert southwest is going to continue to grow. We can't only have the monsoonal rains and Colorado River to depend on. We need to get smarter, and fast."

Did you hear about the horrific fires in Colorado late last month? Fueled by high winds and - drought. Drought? In the Colorado Rockies? In December? Yes, just like the drought which gripped much of the country last summer. Once again, we sit on this big blue marble (Mother Earth), which is comprised of 71% water, having droughts. Is it not time we learn to harvest water? To make sure that water starved locations on Earth, have access to at least some water? Do we have the technology to do so? Maybe, yes.

Water. Made up of two elements in our universe, of which there is plenty. Two hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom. They share electrons, which binds them together, to make water. That is it. This simple ingredient, which is absolutely critical in bringing and maintaining life. Plant life, and animal life. Us. Yet for some reason, we are still harvesting water the old fashioned way. Taking water out of rivers, Taking water out of the ground. Praying for rain. Yet, the vast majority of our planets water resources go untapped. Why?

Consider this interesting fact for a moment. In the heat of summer, when many of us are dripping sweat from the heat and HUMIDITY, there is a whole lot of water in the air we  breathe. How much? About 4% of all water on Earth is trapped in the air. That would be about 37.5 million billion gallons of water. Right in front of our noses. 

Right now, we have many products which can extract water out of the air. Dry air, moist air, it does not matter. Some run on solar power. The smallest home units can produce a few liters a day - the larger ones, hundreds of liters a day. We need to upscale this technology so we can extract (at an affordable price) millions to billions of liters per day. The water is there for the taking.

Runoff from storms. The amount of water which comes down as rainfall, which does not go into ground water, but instead is runoff - is simply astounding. Consider this - an average thunderstorm which produces one inch of rain, yields about 27,000 gallons of water per acre. Some of that goes into ground water (good), some gets evaporated, and some gets runoff into storm sewers, rivers and creeks. Much of our runoff, eventually makes it to the oceans. That fresh water then becomes no longer fresh. 

The graphic in this article, is a picture of Earth taken from one of our satellites. It shows a view of our planet which is almost all water. Having flown from LA to Sydney, I can testify how much water I flew over. It was never ending. Bottom line? We will never run out of ocean water to make fresh water. Especially since many of the scientists are predicting a rise in ocean levels. To desalinate is expensive for sure - but the technology has been around for decades.

It is time for us to get smart on our water resources. Use more drip irrigation. Have more rain barrels in homes. Trap more runoff water, before it goes into the oceans. Extract more water from the air we breathe. The list goes on and on for what we can do better. The fact remains, the desert southwest is going to continue to grow. We can't only have the monsoonal rains and Colorado River to depend on. We need to get smarter, and fast. 

How long can plants and animals last without adequate water? Not long. Some plants can store up water and go for long periods of time. However, most plants and animals cannot. Humans can only go three days before becoming dehydrated. Death comes shortly after that. 

Harvesting of water should be a necessary part of our Agriculture Department. Food and water should be its mainstay. Take the food stamps our of Ag, and put it in the Heath and Human Services Department. The Ag Department needs to "stick to their knitting". Time to get smart folks. We can do this. No time like the present.  

A brand new year, with new beginnings

We need to get our country, our state, back in alignment. That's it. Covid, socialists, crime - none of that will deter us. We always need to remember one thing - and this is critical. We are the good guys. The fixers. The dreamers. The doers.

This morning at breakfast, I was remarking to my wife about this past year. I asked her if she remembered a year ago today. She did. As did I. And I dare say, most others do also. A year ago was the "New Beginning". We had the vaccine ready to go, and we were going to kick this China produced pandemic, right to the curb. It wrecked everyone's 2020, but 2021? A brand new year! Time to forget the "new normal", and just get back to normal!

Shortly after the new year had begun, I remember reading an article by the chairman of Carnival Corporation (the cruise company). Oh, it was so upbeat! "We are done now, with having the pandemic control our destiny. Our cruises this year will be wonderful. Everybody, the crew as well as passengers, will be fully vaccinated. Once we shove off, no masks will be required. We will be in a bubble, protected from Covid." Well, we all know how that turned out. The CDC has just elevated cruising to a Code 4 - which means, don't cruise - even if you are fully vaccinated and boosted. What a disaster!

Yesterday, I wrote about 2020 and 2021 morphing into one 24 month year. I have already heard some folks say 2022 will be just like 2021. To that, I say rubbish. We simply can't let that happen. We need to recalibrate our lives to be like they were in 2019 - or before. We need to get up, dust ourselves off, and set our gaze on the horizon - not the rear view mirror. We now realize that Covid will be with us for a long, long time. Kind of like the Spanish Flu. Or the Swine Flu. They are still here, but nothing like when they first came on the scene.

What I am going to do (not try to do, but do), in 2022 is this - each day, every day, will be a new beginning for me. A gift from God. A day to look forward with a new resolve. A resolve to help get our country back on track.

We have a Constitution - the best ever penned, in any country, at any time in history. We live in a representative democracy. Not a direct democracy, like the Democrats think we do. We elect representatives who are suppose to follow our Constitution. I dare say if we could get to that point, the difference between political parties, might be negligible. 

If we look out into our fruited plains right now, the America we see, the one which has been taken to the breaking point by lawlessness, and political entropy, is a mess. This is our starting point on January 1st. It is like the old saying, "We have to get better, because we can't get worse." Well actually, maybe we could we could get worse. But I believe there are enough of us, who still remember how America is suppose to look, that will help us get back to that great beginning. Where once again, America can be (as Ronald Reagan would put it) "The shining city on a hill, for all to see."

There is nobody who is going to come in from the cold and help us fix things. This is for us to do. Love of God, love of our Constitution, love for family, and yes, love for others - needs to be our credo going forward. Is America really that broken? Not really. It is like a car which is out of alignment. Once the car is fixed, and the alignment is corrected, the car runs fine. 

We need to get our country, our state, back in alignment. That's it. Covid, socialists, crime - none of that will deter us. We always need to remember one thing - and this is critical. We are the good guys. The fixers. The dreamers. The doers.

We can fix this. We will fix this. It is after all, a brand new year, with new beginnings. This time, it is for sure.