Ready for the coronation

"Trump's second term should be quite something - especially if he has a friendly Congress. His learning should be quite short, as he already has the recipe on how to fix things. Things will become so much better, so fast, it will expose Biden for what a train wreck he really was." 

Okay - I will say it. So long as Donald Trump retains the type of lead he has over the rest of the pack, what a waste of time and money these primaries and caucus nights are. Some say that the race for # 2 is worth the effort and expense. Others (like me), think that maybe the race is to really see who could take a cabinet post. I will say this - baring an unforeseen health issue, or a HUGE gaffe, from which there is no recovery, Donald Trump is a slam dunk to get the nomination. And unless Biden can perform a miracle, on the scale of the Miracle of Lourdes, he is toast. Too much bad water under the bridge, as you can't run from your record.

In fact, I am so certain that we will have Donald Trump 2.0 as our next president, I have a new motto for him. Not that I minded "Make America Great Again", as it rang true. But based on what Biden has done to the country, how about "Put America Back Again". What the Trump loyalists really want, is America looking the way it did under Trump 1.0. That is all. Biden took all the goodness in what Trump had done and trashed it. He left America looking like a car wreck on the side of the road.

David Axelrod is a guy I never agreed with. But I did respect his thinking (albeit wrong). He is ringing the alarm bell about Joe Biden, and how he is setting things up for a Trump win. Plus - he is really worried about all these lawsuits against Trump. Instead of destroying Trump, they are simply lionizing him. Trump's base has never been prouder of Donald Trump. Trump has shown just by doing nothing, just how corrupt our DOJ is. Plus - what a worthless appointment, and partisan hack that Merrick Garland is.

Donald Trump was asked in a town hall meeting if he would seek retribution once sworn it. His answer was simple and to the point. "I won't have time for retribution. I will be too busy putting America back the way it was." Then Trump stopped and pondered for a second - "My success rebuilding America will be my retribution." Well said Mr. Trump - well said!

Trump's second term should be quite something - especially if he has a friendly Congress. His learning should be quite short, as he already has the recipe on how to fix things. Things will become so much better, so fast, it will expose Biden for what a train wreck he really was. 

Many are ready for the coronation. I am ready for the coronation. I am so over Barack Obama. I am so over Joe Biden. I just want Trump to "Put America Back Again".     

The Golden Ratio

"It is a wonderful world, and a wonderful life. One of our pastors referred to most back yards as God's living room. Why that term? Nature abounds, right outside the window. Some of God's creatures, great and small can be seen out a living room window. We can see and enjoy nature, with that mysterious Golden Ratio, being the building block for much of it." 

The Golden Ratio. Or better-known part of the Fibonacci sequence, is seen all over nature. Both in the great and small, this Golden Ratio seems to appear. Why is that? It is almost as if there was some kind of a great designer when the universe was created. Do you mean like God? Exactly. It is one of the best examples of God's handywork in creation.

The ratio of 1 to 1.618 seems to pop up all over the place. We can even see it in art and architecture. But mostly we see it in nature. From the smallest of small to the largest galaxies. How does it happen? Why is the ratio always 1 to 1.618? Why not 1 to 2.5? Why not 1 to just about anything? Good questions with no good answers - except one. Intelligent design. 

This ratio, called Phi (uses the symbol φ), is even seen in the human body. How so? Measure the tip of a person's head to the floor. Then the person's belly button to the floor, and guess what? You get a ratio of 1 to 1.618. Snowflakes, bee colonies and so forth - you can see evidence of this Golden Ratio. But that is as far as I am going with this. Why? It is a math thing, and to go deeper down this rabbit hole, goes beyond my ability to understand or explain. But many of math brainiacs surely understand this. All I can do is just wonder why it exists.

There is an old saying, that if you want to see evidence of God, just look around. God's fingerprints are all over creation. Another example? Just look at the magnificent art which goes into many of the colorings and markings of birds and animals. The "artwork" of this creation many times is jaw dropping. We can blame this kind of stuff on aliens or accidents of nature - or we can accept that these things are products of intelligent design, by the greatest of all designers.

It is a wonderful world, and a wonderful life. One of our pastors referred to most back yards as God's living room. Why that term? Nature abounds, right outside the window. Some of God's creatures, great and small can be seen out a living room window. We can see and enjoy nature, with that mysterious Golden Ratio, being a building block for much of it. 

Someday, we will probably understand all these things which are so beautiful, yet mysterious to us. But for right now, they are simply ours to enjoy. 

    

And when is it treason?

"Just look around folks - the United States is a garden of soft targets for someone who wishes to do us harm. Our president, our DHS Secretary and our Defense Secretary, all took oaths to protect and defend us. To intestinally not do so, goes way beyond dereliction of duty. It is treason."

This morning on the news, was an economic snapshot of where our economy is right now, compared to three years ago (when Biden took the oath). Interesting to say the least. We are paying a third more for our food, a third more for our energy, and a fifth more for our housing. That is huge. These are prices which likely will not go down - ever. Plus, they are still going up, as evidenced by last month's inflation report. This has been a mismanagement of our economy in the highest degree. But it is not treason.

I have been hearing more and more retired generals speak out about our nation's security. Not just retired generals, but many local sheriffs and border patrol agents. They are worried, even scared. This worry meter seems to have peaked ever since the Gaza War. Why? Our southern border. The fact our southern border is wide open, and we deport practically nobody who sneaks across, and we have hundreds of thousands of "got aways", represents a clear and present danger to our country. So much so, that whoever is responsible for this mismanagement of our borders, should be guilty of treason.

This "catch and release" bs is just that - bs. People turn themselves in after crossing the border and are then given a court date to adjudicate their status. Most are pleading that they need amnesty, due to dangerous conditions in their country. But here is the truth as we know it so far - 90% of them will not qualify and need to be sent home. AND - those are only the ones who we know of (not the "got aways"). PLUS - when their court dates (which are months in the future) roll around for those who turned themselves in, these illegals are long gone - living in the shadows of our country. 

As we continue to bomb Yemen, as we continue to supply Israel with weapons to fight Hamas and Hezbollah, and as we continue to supply arms to Ukraine to fight Russia - we are inviting a sucker punch and an uppercut from any terrorist who snuck into our country.

Just look around folks - the United States is a garden of soft targets for someone who wishes to do us harm. Our president, our DHS Secretary and our Defense Secretary, all took oaths to protect and defend us. To intentionally not do so, goes way beyond dereliction of duty. It is treason.

Years ago, there was a book out called, none dare call it treason. Well, I will call this treason. There is no other name for putting this country in needless and terminal danger. Biden will not only go down in history as our worst president, but also our most dangerous.  

   

Swatting ants

"How will this end up? Will we be sucked into another war? As bad as war is, it looks inevitable that we will need to take care of Iran. And we need to do it before they finish the development of their first nuke. Time is not our friend. Get busy Mr. President. Time to destroy the nest."      

Last night, we finally did it. We let loose with some of our F-18 fire power on the bad guys. The goat herders from Yemen, the Houthis, had gone too far. Like way too far. Besides unleashing drones and crude missiles at our troops stationed in Syria and Iraq, they have been sending more robust missiles at international shipping in the Red Sea. Plus - they have targeted our Navy ships. So, we finally responded.

In true Joe Biden and Tony Blinken fashion, we gave the goat herders plenty of advanced warning that we were coming. So much so, not only could the baddies scatter, but they could also hide and reposition their launchers. With this combined attack, led by the Americans and the British, we only took out five Houthis. The rest will live to fight again. They will no doubt be firing off more missiles before the weekend is over.

Let me explain this to our President, as he seems to have trouble understanding. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all proxies of Iran. Iran, the country Obama and Biden were romancing when Obama was president, is being romanced again by Biden and Blinken. Note to the Biden administration - the leadership of Iran are bad people. The proxies they hire to do their dirty work in Israel, or in the Red Sea - are also bad people. They eschew peace. They want war. They want to drive the United States out of the region. They want Israel destroyed.

And this group of goat herders are playing us like a fiddle right now. They are launching thousands of dollars' worth of drones and missiles at shipping in the Red Sea, and we are knocking down these drones and missiles with millions of dollars' worth of our defensive missiles. If this keeps up, we will either need more ships in the area, all bristling with missiles, or the ships we have on station will run short on missiles. Meanwhile, with all the money Biden has sent to Iran in the past three years, the supply line running from Iran to Yemen is doing just fine. 

There is an old saying, if you poke a hornet's nest, you will get stung. However, if you destroy the nest, the hornet problem will be over. We need to destroy the nest. Can we do it? Easy. There is thinking by many today, that most of our problems in the world today could be taken care of by letting 300 fully trained Marines, go into an area and just be Marines. And that is if we want to do things on the ground. If we want to use air assets, we have more than enough in the area. We have the best fighter jets in the world. F-18 Super Hornets, F-35 Lightnings, F-22 Raptors, and even a B-52 or two. If we wanted to, we could turn Yemen into a sheet of glass. But that is not the way our very timid president operates. Joe the appeaser, would rather swat at ants. The problem is this - the ant hill has an almost endless supply of ants. 

How will this end up? Will we be sucked into another war? As bad as war is, it looks inevitable that we will need to take care of Iran. And we need to do it before they finish the development of their first nuke. Time is not our friend. Get busy Mr. President. Time to destroy the nest.      

Now I lay me down to sleep...

 Now I lay me down to sleep,

pray the Lord my sole to keep.

If I should die before I wake.

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Remember this prayer? It was a standard in many households when I was growing up. Today, this type of prayer (or like the grace, "Come Lord Jesus"), are called a "rote" prayer, or a "formula" prayer. It was a good way to get a child in the practice of praying. Some continued praying these rote prayers until they were pre-teens. But then many people stop praying them. Should we quit saying these old favorite prayers? Maybe not.

About 20 years ago, one of our neighbor's woke up to find his wife stiff and cold. She had died sometime in the middle of the night. Not even 50 years old, and she died in her sleep. When word spread in the neighborhood this had happened, it was a showstopper. You were not supposed to die that young, especially in your sleep.

Why do I bring this up? The other day my wife and I were out shopping when we ran into an old friend. She had recently lost her husband. They were not yet retired, but close. They went to bed like they usually did, maybe read for a while, and turned the lights out. When she awoke, her husband was dead. Died in his sleep. That was seven months ago, and the sadness and grief were still present within her. I had never seen a person look so sad.  

I know, I know. Death eventually finds us all. But at the end of the day, when praying in bed, asking the Lord should you die before you wake, to take your soul to Heaven - is not a bad idea. In fact, it is a good idea indeed! Teaching kids to pray, and especially using that prayer at night, is a very good idea. It is being a good parent and doing a very godly thing for your children.

Is there anything wrong with saying a formula prayer at night like "Now I lay me down to sleep", or at mealtime like "Come Lord Jesus"? Not a bit, so long as those words have meaning, and are not just words to be recited.   

Someone once told me, "With prayer, we talk to God. When reading his Word, He talks to us." Wise words for sure. Prayer is important, no matter what your age. What if you have not prayed for decades? You are out of practice? God does not care, so long as you start again. He has been patiently waiting to hear from you. 

 

Next week - the big show starts!

"The Iowa Caucuses are only a few days away. So is the polar vortex. Looking at the positive side of being in Minnesota in January, this weekend we have a boatload of Wildcard playoff games. That will be followed up by the caucuses on Monday. For Minnesota, in January, that is about as good as it gets."   

Well, it is March. And it is 2024. That only means one thing. The "Hawkeye Caucus" is almost here. Like next Monday. And the timing is perfect. After this very mild (and almost non-existent) winter, the dreaded polar vortex is knocking on the doorstep. On Monday, the temps (with the wind factored in), should be under zero. But these are Iowans. They are tough, and they don't care. Unless there is an ice storm, they will be there. And they will vote.

Many refer to the Iowa Caucuses as the wild card of the primary season. Some who were favored to win in the past, had a nasty surprise after the votes were counted. Others, who had been plodding along on the campaign trail, had an unexpected surprise when they found out they had won. So, what does this mean if somebody wins the caucus on Monday? Not much. Or it could put a jet pack on their campaigning going into New Hampshire. 

The big suspense in this first real vote of the season, is to see how much damage, if any, has been done to Donald Trump by his legal troubles. Will he be "Teflon Don" and keep his 30-point lead over the rest of the pack? Or will he be wounded so deep by these legal troubles, that Haley or DeSantis can surge up to, or even catch Mr. Trump.

Here is what I think. I think Trump keeps his lead, but it shrinks. I see Nikki Haley gaining points. Ron Desantis will be a tossup. If he comes in a distant third, regardless of what he has said, that might be taps for this Navy veteran. Donor money will start to dry up, and he will limp into New Hampshire, and then maybe South Carolina. Or he will just call it quits and head back to Florida. On the other hand, if he does well in Iowa, this will be a three-way race.

Vivek and Christie will be gone. Again, regardless of what they have said, money talks. If there is no more donor money, the campaign trail can get cold and lonely. By February 1st, this could be a two-person race between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. Or a three-way race if Ron does well in Iowa. And how certain is Trump that he will eventually dispatch Haley (and maybe Desantis) and be by himself? He is rumored to be interviewing Elise Stefanick and Lee Zeldin to run as his VP. Wait - what? Those are both New Yorkers. The thinking is rumored to be, to have a strong New Yorker on the ticket, could put a dent in the "blueness" of New York. Interesting rumor for sure. 

The Iowa Caucuses are only a few days away. So is the polar vortex. Looking at the positive side of being in Minnesota in January, this weekend we have a boatload of Wildcard playoff games. That will be followed up by the caucuses on Monday. For Minnesota, in January, that is about as good as it gets.   

 

 

Future jitters

"Would I go to an automated McDonalds to buy a Big Mac? Sure, I would try it. Why? Curiosity. And hopefully, it would be cheaper. But we shall see. For now, I am content to deal with humans, despite all their flaws and mistakes." 

I just went back and read an article I wrote in January of 2017. Right after Donald Trump got elected. It had to do with jobs coming back from overseas, and how many of them will not exist by 2025. One "think tank" thought that 20% of those jobs will have gone bye-bye by 2025. That pretty well tracks with what I am reading today.

BREAKING NEWS: For the past year, McDonalds has been working on a 100% automated restaurant in Texas. Now it is up and running. Serving customers. Flipping burgers. How is it going so far? Okay. However, many who go there are skeptical at first. But the food comes out tasting the same, orders DO NOT get mixed up. 

What does McDonalds corporate think about this new venture of theirs? They are excited. Why? Their corporate goal is to do better with less. And that involves using technology. Why will this be a bellwether event? Heck, if McDonalds can do it, so can we (the competition might be saying). As one customer said after leaving this new McDonalds - "Well, there goes millions of jobs." Yup. That will be truth.

Speaking of truth, every time my wife and I go to Sam's Club, it is spooky walking down the aisles. Why? There is a constant "beep, beep", if a robot floor cleaner is coming up the same aisle. So far, I don't think anyone has been run over by one of these robots, but it takes some getting used to.

Plus, when you are shopping now at Sam's, if you don't want to use self-service lanes, you can use "auto checkout". That is where you use your phone app every time you put something in your cart. When you go through a checkout reader, everything is automatically tabulated, and you just walk out the store. Easy-peasy, just like that. No more check-out lines.

Some "old schoolers" are thinking, can't we just stop this madness? Slow down, for Pete's sake! Here is the bad news for those old-time thinkers. Every second, 127 new devices become connected to the internet. That is what is called the "Internet of Things (IoT)". By the end of this year, it is estimated that there will be more than 75 billion things connected to the internet. By 2030, it is estimated that each person in this country will own at least 15 internet connected devices. Worldwide, the IoT will be worth trillions of dollars. That is our future.

Would I go to an automated McDonalds to buy a Big Mac? Sure, I would try it. Why? Curiosity. And hopefully, it would be cheaper. But we shall see. For now, I am content to deal with humans, despite all their flaws and mistakes.