Home of the brave? We better be!

"This is a huge gamble worth taking. This is a time for all good Americans to buck up and be patient. This is the time to ignore looking at your 401K balance every stinking day. As the saying goes, the market is like riding on a roller coaster. Sometimes up, sometimes down. The only people who get hurt when the roller coaster goes down, are the ones who jump off." 

Here are the facts. For many years now, we have had globalist type trade agreements with many nations worldwide. A few were okay, but the majority were lopsided. Net result? High deficits. Loss of good paying manufacturing jobs. Some long-standing industries all but disappearing. Where was this path leading us? To higher deficits. Less national security. More lost (good paying) jobs. In short, the once and powerful America was on its way to mediocracy. 

Donald Trump has been aware of this issue since the 1980's. LONG before he dreamt of running for president. And then in 2016, he had his chance. He became the 45th president of the USA. But the headwinds were strong, and the swamp was deep. Trump could only scratch the surface of this most vexing issue. Then came the mysterious election, Trump loses, and his term was over. But the trade imbalance issue remained. And the globalist who replaced Trump had no desire to fix it.

Now in 2024, Donald Trump is back and filled with a resolve. This time he WILL fix it. What does he require from the American public while he does so? Faith and patience. The short-term pain of turning this battleship around will be replaced by well-deserved gain. But guess what? Many Americans are getting ready to flinch. They might want things returned the way they once were, even though THAT way was caustic to our country. Bottom line? When the time came to be brave for the sake of the union, some selfishly looked at their 401K balance and cried foul. "Put it back damn it! I just lost two grand (on paper) from this tariff foolishness!" 

I know many who are retired who have seen some loss in fortune (on paper) since the tariff wars started. They are fine with looking at the long game of this strategy. Already it was reported this morning that 50 countries have contacted the White House to negotiate a new trade deal. Netanyahu is in town for talks, and some of those talks will include trade. Donald Trump is not out to screw anybody. But by the same token, Trump is not out to have America screwed any longer. Trump has the guts to make this happen. Many of the minions - do not.

This is a huge gamble worth taking. This is a time for all good Americans to buck up and be patient. This is the time to ignore looking at your 401K balance every stinking day. As the saying goes, the market is like riding on a roller coaster. Sometimes up, sometimes down. The only people who get hurt when the roller coaster goes down, are the ones who jump off. 

Stay brave folks. This won't last forever. We will be a better country once it is over.     

Hands off!! Hands off just what, exactly?

"I have said this before, but it bears repeating. We need a national divorce. The left hates us, and we can't work with them. Time to go our separate ways. Our country will be called the Independent States of America, and their country could be called the Depend States of America. The more I think about that, the better I like it."  

Best question of the year so far, was asked by Elon Musk. "I don't understand it. What am I doing wrong? Why is there so much hatred for DOGE?" All I can say is this to Elon - welcome to the swamp. The land where black is white and up is down. But was not Elon the darling of the left just a few years ago when he made the best EV in America? Sure was. But that was before Elon dared to dip his toe in swamp waters. Now he is being called Hitler (or worse). 

The "Hands Off!" movement? I find it amusing at best. Why? I am old to enough to remember that back when Democrats were just the opposition party and not the flame throwers they are today. Back then, things were much different. And oh, that darn video tape! Fox News has been showing clips of prominent Democrats (like Obama) from years past advocating for more balanced trade. To bring back our high paying jobs which had been sent offshore. How about prominent Democrats (like Schumer) advocating for more secure borders. To keep more of the illegals out of the country. Or a much younger Nancy Pelosi advocating for getting rid of fraud, waste and abuse in our government. What ever happened to good OLD Nancy?

But now things are different within the Party of Hate. Killing the unborn by the tens of thousands is just fine with them, but send illegal gang bangers who kill and rape our innocent citizens back home? Oh my, we need to find an Obama or Biden appointed judge to sue the Trump administration! Wait - what? Whose side are these fire bombers on? It sure is not the side of America.

Of all the nutty protests going on right now, the one I find the most interesting are the protests against Trump's tariffs. Back when Sleepy Joe took the helm and started to ramp up "green scam" spending so much and so fast that the country was rocked with inflation, the loony left did NOTHING. Said NOTHING. No protests - nary a peep from them. BUT - for Trump to put tariffs on many of the countries who tariff us, in order to being the price of goods down, the goofballs on the left are screaming bloody murder. Riddle me the logic in that one!

I often wonder how much more effective Trump would have been as POTUS 45 or will be as POTUS 47 if he did not have the caustic left hanging around his neck like a millstone. Like the current humor goes, Trump could cure cancer, and the left would be out protesting to get their cancer back. There is not one thing, not one single, solitary thing, that Donald Trump does which is looked upon as good by the loons on the left. 

One more thing. For the last year of his term, Joe Biden was so incapacitated that he was not running the country. Then who was running it? Where is the outrage in the streets? We could have been nuked by any number of countries. Why? The fact Biden had taken a pass at being POTUS and Harris was no place to be found was known far and wide. We were sitting ducks for months on end.

I have said this before, but it bears repeating. We need a national divorce. The left hates us, and we can't work with them. Time to go our separate ways. Our country will be called the Independent States of America, and their country could be called the Depend States of America. The more I think about that, the better I like it.  

 

Tornado resistant houses? Why not?

 

"My heart goes out to people who have lost everything due to a fire, an earthquake, a hurricane or a tornado. But there are ways to build houses which can withstand some earthquakes. Houses which can withstand some fires. Houses which can withstand some hurricanes. And houses which can withstand some tornados." 

Another week of strong storms down in tornado alley - more houses destroyed, and more importantly, more innocent people are dead. Most of the houses which are destroyed by the average twister, look just like the houses in any neighborhood. Beautiful, classy, and vulnerable to the strong winds from a tornado. And to make matters worse, because many houses down south don't need basements, if a F3 or stronger tornado happens to hit your house - there will be nothing left, and no place to hide when it hits. 

The biggest complaint the folks in Florida have about their homeowner insurance is the cost. It just keeps going up and up. Why? Every year it seems there is some kind of wind and or rain event which damages or destroys houses in Florida. And every year there is the call to make a different kind of house in Florida. One which can withstand hurricane strength winds. Soon, the homeowners in Florida might be in the same jam homeowners in fire ravaged CoCal are. Uninsurable.

Who will be next in the eyes of the homeowner insurance industry? Maybe the homes in "tornado alley". But here's the thing folks (as Sleepy Joe would say), there already IS a solution to a normal tornado taking down a beautiful and expensive home. A home which could survive a strong EF 4 or EF 5? Maybe not yet. But weaker tornados for sure. Then why are not building companies building nothing but tornado resistant homes right now? Looks. They don't look as nice as today's Parade of Homes styles. Thus, home builders keep rolling the dice that their homes will never get hit.

I remember years ago when in Florida over the winter, we were staying at a nice condo in a VRBO. One day, the weather was particularly unsettled (normal down there for the month of February), and a strong tornadic storm system was headed east over Mobile Bay. This had the weather folks very nervous, and they told the folks in Pensacola to take cover and get ready for bad things.

Being Minnesota folks, we normally would just head for the basement. In this condo, there was no basement. Most folks in Florida with no basements or storm shelters just hide in the bathrooms and cross their fingers. To me, that was a sad substitute for a good old basement. Anyhow, the sirens went off, the wind, rain and hail hit, and it was bad. However, no tornado hit our condo. We were lucky, but it was a nail biter for sure!

My heart goes out to people who have lost everything due to a fire, an earthquake, a hurricane or a tornado. But there are ways to build houses which can withstand some earthquakes. Houses which can withstand some fires. Houses which can withstand some hurricanes. And houses which can withstand some tornados. 

How about you Mr. Bird? Can your house survive a natural disaster? Not even close. Was not in the calculus when we build forty years ago. Today however, if we were young and starting over again, those thoughts would be in my calculus. Convincing my wife, however, might be another issue!

 

Suck it up, buttercup!

"We owe Trump the opportunity to let these tariffs play out. As Americans, we need to be strong. Be resolute. But that might not be in the cards. Why? Many of us live only for today, with no vision of tomorrow. Fixing out trade imbalances will not only benefit us, but also our kids and grandies. Final words - suck it up, buttercup! This won't last forever." 

One of the Company Commanders in Navy boot camp would always say the same thing when thing got hard - "Suck it up, buttercup!" The hidden meaning of that phrase was things might be tough right now, but they will not be forever. So, set your jaw, and put up with the pain and discomfort. For those in boot camp who came out of a life of relative ease, this was strong medicine to take. But for those with the long view, that this was only to make them hard and resolute, it was all good.

In our ongoing trade disputes with other countries, one industry which does not get much press, yet really takes it in the shorts if our agribusiness. Sure, we produce enough to feed our population, and many times have "bin busters" at harvest time, but there is another side to this story. The producers themselves. The farmers and ranchers. Making enough of a profit to keep on going. For that, markets greater than the United States alone are needed. Yet, our "friends and allies" often times put tariffs and other trade barriers up to stunt our trade with them.

The morning on the news was the head of the Cattlemen's Association. He said something which I had not thought of before. I have had beef all over the world. Japan, Australia, the UK and Spain. It was all good but not like at home. I always thought our beef was the best. The man from the Cattlemen's Association said (this might be a bit biased), we produce the best beef in the world - hands down. Yet, we have trouble selling it outside our country. Donald Trump thinks this is unfair - so unfair that it is worth the temporary discomfort of tariffs. To fix this injustice, we all might have to "suck it up, buttercup".

I hate to say this about my fellow countrymen, but we are a nation of financial wussies. Seriously. The Dow goes down for a few days due to the "shock and awe" of tariffs, and it is as bad as getting nuked by Russia. I mean, come on - this too shall pass. I loved Trump's statement on the discomfort coming out of the post Liberation Day announcement - "this is like going to the doctor to get better". And Congress? They are the worst of the bunch. They are trying to write legislation to strip Trump of his tariff powers. If they did that, we would be back at square one. 

We owe Trump the opportunity to let these tariffs play out. As Americans, we need to be strong. Be resolute. But that might not be in the cards. Why? Many of us live only for today, with no vision of tomorrow. Fixing out trade imbalances will not only benefit us, but also our kids and grandies. Final words - suck it up, buttercup! This won't last forever. 

  

  

This is why labor loves him...

 

"Why does labor love Donald Trump? For the same reason the richest man in the world (Elon Musk) loves him. He is good for America. He has vision and knows how to mold that vision into action. For those who are squeamish, hold on tight. For those who are not, enjoy the ride!"

It is not easy, is it? Going from the globalist nation that Joe Biden and Barack Obama help make us into, back into a land of free traders. But here is what happened in the past few decades. America, once a powerhouse of manufacturing, has become neutered. We have become a huge nothing burger. We have rusted out cities all over our steel belt. And our proud union workers, who once were inseparable from the Democrats, felt like helpless orphans.

But then came this billionaire builder named Donald Trump who really understood labor. He understood fairness. And he understood how globalism had hollowed out our entire manufacturing base. Most importantly however, Donald Trump understood how many of our international trade agreements were screwing us. Causing huge deficits. With the status quo, the fat cats on Wall Street were doing just fine, thank you. But main street was dying under the crush of Biden's inflation.

Trump and his team knew what the fix would be. Tariffs. It had worked before in our history, and Trump is positive they will work again. But to turn this ship around, even to implement "gentle yet reciprocal" tariffs, was going to cause some shock and awe in the markets. The Democrats, once lovers of making unions strong, folded like a deck of cards once these tariffs were announced. They voted lock step in the Senate to have Trump's tariff authority taken away. They even managed to talk four RINOs to vote with them. Their solution? Get back to go along, get along. Accept the fact that high deficits will be a part of us forever. Rely on China for just about everything we use.

With China making much of our steel, aluminum and meds, what happens if we go to war over Tawain? What about the Rare Earth minerals we need for green energy? Want to know? As we would say in the Navy, we would be "screwed, blued and tattooed". Here is a headline for the globalists. This is as much of a national defense issue as it is a financial issue. Period. Trump did not just talk big on the campaign trail and then once elected, take 4,000 days of vacation like Biden did. No, with Trump it is promises made, promises kept.

Many of the liberals are screaming bloody murder about Canada. "How in the world can you treat our best friend this way!?!" You mean, our best friend who has shut us out of their markets by charging outrageous tariffs on us? Like almost 300% tariffs on dairy? Canada is just part of the load we have carried for years now. Can Canada go it alone if they divorce us? Good luck with that one! I hope Canadians can speak Mandrin as well as they speak French!

The Democrats also say, "America first does not mean America alone!" News flash - if America ever did have to go it alone, we could do just fine. And here is the part which really is the finger down the throats of the globalists - the world needs America more than America needs the world. In other words, we would love to work with other nations as partners, as fair traders - but no longer patsies. And it will take a guy who is tougher than nails, and resolute to the end, to get us there. Thank you, Donald Trump!

Why does labor love Donald Trump? For the same reason the richest man in the world (Elon Musk) loves him. He is good for America. He has vision and knows how to mold that vision into action. For those who are squeamish, hold on tight. For those who are not, enjoy the ride!

The good, the bad and the ugly of April 1st

"Now it is April 2nd - Liberation Day. What does that mean? Democrats hate the fact Trump is going to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries who tariff us. Is there outrage for the countries who tariff us? Heck no! But when we do it? Oh, how the Democrats would love to impeach Trump for the third time!"

Yesterday was a big day for politics. Why? Was it a general election? Nope. An off-year election? Nope. But for some reason, April Fool's Day was picked to be the day of a special election. As people are struggling with getting their taxes done, living through the odd season of "sprinter" (spring and winter combined), and trying to enjoy the opening of the MLB season - some were also asked to vote for some very important people and/or issues. How did that turn out?

THE GOOD - Two seats in Florida were up for a special election yesterday. The money came (once again) pouring into Florida. Florida may be a safe "red" state under Governor DeSantis, but the Democrats did not care. They wanted to put a couple of arrows in the heart of the Republican Party. To pick up these two seats, could have really changed the equation in Washington. Pulled the tracks up from the Trump Train. But alas and alack for the Democrats - all that money was not enough. The Republicans took both seats by big margins. Now Speaker Johnson can breathe a bit easier.

One of the votes in Wisconsin was to enshrine Voter ID into the state constitution. That was a huge win for fair elections. Even though Democrats hate Voter ID (please don't ask me why), this was a huge victory for the people who love fair elections.

THE BAD - Wisconsin also had a vote for a state supreme court justice yesterday. At one time, justices and judges were supposed to be non-political. That ship has left our shores years ago. Today, we don't ever pretend that judges and justices are neutral. The person who the Democrats backed for this position is a hard-core leftist. The person the Republican backed was not. The leftie won by a large margin, and there goes a neutral court for the Badgers. Too bad, so sad.

THE UGLY - Now that Wisconsin has a Democrat style Supreme Court, what does that mean? It means if the Democrats want to redistrict the state and thereby "tilt the board" in their favor, there are no roadblocks stopping them. Even though everybody knew that before the vote, everybody knew that when Soros corrupt money came flooding into Wisconsin - the minions did not care. Not a bit. Why? Many in that state still think they are "Prairie Populists". In reality however, many in Wisconsin are like the voters in Minnesota. They vote like idiots.

There was April Fool's Day at a glance. Sorry, no jokes here - all is true. Now it is April 2nd - Liberation Day. What does that mean? Democrats hate the fact Trump is going to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries who tariff us. Is there outrage for the countries who tariff us? Heck no! But when we do it? Oh, how the Democrats would love to impeach Trump for the third time! Why? To repeat - those who vote for Democrats vote like idiots. 

    

The real St. Paul exposed

"What is the real St. Paul like these days? Kind of like what the real Minneapolis is like today. As bad as these cities are, the disillusioned minions who live there, keep voting Democrat, hoping things will get better. But they never do. Democrats have ruined both cities by trying to make them into a faux utopia. What they really ended up with is a dystopia." 

My last trip around the block (last employer) was the Ecolab company when it was located in St. Paul. It was a great job, and I enjoyed it. But getting there and back was rough. Many days, it took me almost two hours to get there and two hours home. Four hours out of a day is a lot to ask, just in commute time. But that being put aside, it was a great job.

My job was close to the Aliance Bank building. I would walk over there and have lunch in the cafeteria. It was always busy and lots of hustle and bustle around the noontime. But that was just over 15 years ago. Last night on the news, was an article about the Aliance Bank building getting ready to shut down. What? Why? Seems most of their tenants are leaving. Is there a structural problem with the building? Nope. There is a structural problem with the crime in St. Paul.

Both of the Twin Cities have the same problem right now. Neither city offers a good environment to work in. Some may blame the aftereffects of Covid, and that is fine. But the real problem is crime. The aftermath of the Floyd riots. The neutering of the city police by liberal and clueless Mayors and City Councils. What is left of both Minneapolis and St. Paul? Cities which are becoming more and more "hollowed out". Did I mention that both city governments are almost 100% Democrat?

If you are one of the remaining folks who work in downtown, just finding a place to go for lunch is getting to be more of a challenge. Finding good and safe mass transit getting to and from is also becoming harder. The excitement, the pizzaz of working in a large metropolitan area - those days might be over. Now it is like a war zone. A poverty zone. Not a safe zone. I have not talked to anybody for a long, long time who likes going into St. Paul or Minneapolis. For anything.

What is the real St. Paul like these days? Kind of like what the real Minneapolis is like today. As bad as these cities are, the disillusioned minions who live there, keep voting Democrat, hoping things will get better. But they never do. Democrats have ruined both cities by trying to make them into a faux utopia. What they really ended up with is a dystopia.