Once again, the arrogance of power

Now that these two clowns have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, what do we do with them? Our foggy Governor won't punish them - heck, he hand picked them.

Every now and again, some of the corruption, the cronyism, the "swamp" becomes exposed to the public. And when it does, it ain't pretty. In fact, we get a chance to see everything, warts and all. Yes, I am talking about the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority. In particular, the two know nothing, do nothing political hacks who have been selected to chair this mess.

Now that these two clowns have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, what do we do with them? Our foggy Governor won't punish them - heck, he hand picked them. And one of course is close to "Minnesota royalty". Yup, Fritz's son. Nobody with a DFL behind their name would have the stones to even slap Teddy on the wrist. By the way, Ted Mondale's daddy, the one and only Fritz, was one of the DFL operatives who got free tickets to sit in the luxury seat. 

But the lady with many names and the squeaky voice is the one who really gets me. Yes, her daddy also was heavily connected in the DFL mud for many years in this state. But he was not royalty like Fritz is. In other words, Kelm- whatever is not radioactive. She can be fired, and should be fired - now!

Am I saying that Mondale should not be fired? Nope - he absolutely should be! That is how things would work in the real world. But nobody has the guts to do it because of his daddy. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to the Minnesota "swamp". Meet the inside game of political cronyism. Are any of the taxpayers getting invites to be wined and dined in a luxury box at the new stadium? No, because they are looked upon by the elite as mere subjects. The union leaders, the lobbyists, the statist hacks on the other hand, they are sacrosanct.

The voters have done a good job the past couple of elections of cleaning out the gutter in many states as well as Washington. In Minnesota however, we still have a lot of work to do. Remember this in 2018 when we have our statewide elections. Do we want to be treated like subjects, or citizens? The DFL seems to be very adapt at keeping us in the subject category while their fat cats live it up on our dime.  

Through the looking glass...

"For the first time in over 30 years, we have elected a change agent. Not a cookie cutter establishment Republican or Democrat - a real honest to gosh change agent. And anyone who does not think that huge change is coming, has not been watching the news as of late."

I had lunch with a couple of old friends today. We meet up at the same restaurant (an excellent steak house) every year about this time. We talk about what we have been up to, family matters, Viking football, and our health (as we have become older). Today we also talked about politics. About what this past election meant.

It is a topic I have thought about much as of late. For the first time in over 30 years, we have elected a change agent. Not a cookie cutter establishment Republican or Democrat - a real honest to gosh change agent. And anyone who does not think that huge change is coming, has not been watching the news as of late.

If we play our cards right, the economy in 2017 (and thereafter) could or should be a lot different than what we have seen for the past decade or two. If we can get our quarterly GDP up to 5% and higher, we will start to see some real growth in the economy. And then we will need it to fix what needs to be fixing. As exciting as all the promises were which were made on the campaign trail were, there is one stubborn fact which needs to be faced. We are going to need a boatload - make that 10 boatloads of money to fix them.

When I look through the looking glass into our future, this is where I see the rubber meeting the road. Yes, by lowering our corporate income tax, we will lure more companies to either set up shop in the United States or stay here. Yes, by lowering the capital gains tax, invention and innovation will be spurred on. Yes, by employing more people in well paying jobs (even if the tax rates are lowered), there should be more tax revenue coming in every year.

But (and this is a big one), to fix our infrastructure, to beef up our border security (wall or no wall), to fix our student loan problem, to get our military mission ready, to fix our underfunded public pensions, start paying down our debt, and to de-tangle us from ObamaCare - there is not enough tea in China. In other words, we will need more money than simple growth will allow us.

I will be very interested to see how this plays out. Donald Trump has surrounded himself with proven performers and deep thinkers. Me? I don't have a clue right now how all this is going to work. How it can be fixed without running the debt up to $30T after two terms in office. But I am not the wizard of smart - those guys have just been nominated to serve on President Elect's Cabinet. Let's hope they are as smart as most of us think they are. 



   

Rick's Energy Department

"It will be 'put up or shut up' for this department who came to life after the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970's. If it can't show value in the 21st century, Trump will just have Perry dismantle it and put it out of its misery."

Pardon me for laughing while I write this article. It is simply too rich. Of all the picks that Donald Trump has made, this one must be close to the top for driving the Loony Left crazy! Whereas Obama picked an Energy Secretary who looked and acted like he was out of a Dr. Suess movie, Trump picks a guy who knows the oil business. Oil business???? Should that not be spelled "oill" so it could qualify as a four letter word?

Actually, the only pick which would have which have driven the "greenies" more crazy is if Trump had picked Rex Tillerson for Energy instead of State. But Rick will be bad enough for them. Why bad? Because for the first time in forever, we are going to have a real energy policy. Rather than zero sum like under Obama, it will be "all of the above". Does that mean renewable energy is dead? Not a bit. However, unlike in the Obama regime, there will be no Solyndra "dry holes" dug. That boondoggle cost the tax payers a half a billion dollars and gave us nothing.

It is true when Perry was running for President he wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy. And why not? The way it was run back then was just a huge waste of money. Working under a President Trump, results will be expected from the Department of Energy. There will be no "driftwood" allowed as it was under the Obama Administration. It will be "put up or shut up" for this department who came to life after the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970's. If it can't show value in the 21st century, Trump will just have Perry dismantle it and put it out of its misery.

One of the most interesting things to watch is how the Trump Presidency will act as it goes through time. Having a successful businessman and an iconoclast as President is going to be unique to say the least. Our new President will not be afraid to call a spade a spade. In other words, be it Energy, Education, Commerce or whatever - if one of his cabinet posts are not showing value, they might not be long for the world.

I have said this before in the past month - I love the way Trump is picking his people. For the most part, I give him an A+. Are any of them ideologues like in past cabinets? Nope. They are all proven performers. We will soon see how that formula works.

My Destopian Lure

"Our Founding Fathers, wise way beyond their years, could see our path ahead fraught with danger. Safeguards were included in our founding documents."

What is it about me? Am I normal (please don't answer that)? I am addicted to books and shows about a destopian future. Currently, I have found something on Netflix which fills the bill for me. It is a show which I had never heard of before. And it is up to three seasons! It is called The 100, and I won't go into detail on the story (no spoilers here!). Suffice it to say it has just enough grit to keep me "binging" on these cold winter nights.

Why do people who live in free societies write stories or scripts about fictional societies which are not free? Where the government has become the master and the people have become the slaves? Why? Because it has happened before. And it can happen again. How easy will it be for us to lose our freedoms? One generation or less. 

I have recently addressed the excellent script writing for Hunger Games. Again, President Snow in that trilogy had the people enslaved. The Government, located in the fictional city of Panem, ruled the rest of the country. And the rest of the country consisted of 12 separate districts. The entire trilogy was about the people, who had become oppressed and downtrodden, trying to get their power back. It was excellent in the way it was portrayed.

In real life, we hold dearly on to our founding documents. Our Founding Fathers, wise way beyond their years, could see our path ahead fraught with danger. Safeguards were included in our founding documents. If followed, they would safeguard us against anarchy or a dystopian future. If ignored - well, read Orwell, Huxley or Collins to see that outcome.

The next time someone tells you we need to rethink our Constitution, remind that person he or she should rethink world history. As most of us know, freedom is not free - nor guaranteed. Our opportunities to live in a dystopian society are endless - that is - unless we are vigilant.  

    

The "specter" of automation

"Here is the truth on many of the jobs that men and women have cut their teeth on for so many years. Some are now headed for the dustbin of history."

The secret is starting to get out. In know, it made good talking points on the campaign trail. "I will bring our jobs back from Mexico, from China, from India, from wherever!" Guess what? Ain't gonna happen that way. Here is the truth on many of the jobs that men and women have cut their teeth on for so many years. Some are now headed for the dustbin of history.

Is this some nefarious plot by a secret organization to gut our economy? Nope. This is called that simple term known simply as "progress". Society as a whole is getting smarter and better. More and more today, we are inventing things that make things. Wherever there is a job or a task which is repetitive in nature, that job becomes a candidate for automation. And I am talking about a lot of jobs. 

For example, the Boston Consulting Group estimates by 2025, 25% of all jobs in the United States workplace will be done by some kind of robotics or smart software. Oxford University has done a similar study in the United Kingdom. In that study, 35% of all jobs in the U.K. will be replaced by automation in twenty years.

What does that mean? If President Elect Trump serves for two full terms, by the time the next President will be sworn in, it will be 2025. In the 8 years that a President Trump would be in office, thousands of jobs which exist now, will have gone the way of automation. And if our country is not ready to adapt to these changing times, we could end up with over 100 million people out of the workforce.

Where is the real future in the workplace? First off, people who know how to invent things which are sorely needed. People who are trained in medical research. So cancer, heart disease, muscular diseases, blood diseases and so on can finally be conquered. People who understand nanotechnology. More and more things are becoming more complex yet continue to shrink in size. And people who know how to make things which make things. Yes, I am taking about robotics and smart software.

What I am trying to say is this - we need not fear the future, but we do need to understand it.
If a young person wants to go to college and get a four year degree in Anthropology, there probably will not be a job for him or her upon graduation. For young people, planning a future today means looking out over the horizon. Trying to figure out if your skill set will still be valid in 10 years. 

Here is something interesting. Shortly after I got out of college, I was in a meeting conducted by a futurist who was employed by the company I worked for. He talked about the future of technology as well as the future of work. Many of the things I mentioned in this short article, are similar to what he talked about 45 years ago. He was so spot on many of them, it is almost scary. 

What do we do for futurists today? They are all over the place. Many, many good articles on the internet, penned by reputable people. People who can see the future. And the future is? We can look at it either as a specter or as our path forward. Plus, we need to not only understand the future, but also embrace it. Why? Because the future will be here tomorrow. 

A new type of SOS?

"Trump looks at Tillerson as being the anti-Kerry. Kerry, who is dripping with Washington politics, is a 'cookie cutter', travel everywhere, do nothing, Secretary of State."

I will say one thing for sure. When Trump said he was going to "shake things up a bit" in Washington, he appears to be a man of his word. Some of Mr. Trump's loyalists did not make the cut - and some came in from left field. The most interesting to date however, is Trump's pick for Secretary of State. A man who has never, ever been in politics. 

Rex Tillerson is the CEO of Exxon Mobil, one of the largest companies in the world. He has worked there his entire career, and move up the corporate ladder nicely. Exxon Mobil is a trans-global company and Mr. Tillerson has become a familiar face across the globe. As the saying goes, he knows the territory - and he knows people, including many foreign leaders.

Trump looks at Tillerson as being the anti-Kerry. Kerry, who is dripping with Washington politics, is a "cookie cutter", travel everywhere, do nothing, Secretary of State. His work experience in the real world is nil. Nada, zip. Tillerson not only understands the world, he understands the real world. And "real" is what Trump is now looking for in a Secretary of State.

Now this may be jumping the gun a bit, as Trump has not officially picked Rex Tillerson. Maybe he is being vetted for the Energy Secretary instead (would that ever drive the "greenies" crazy!) By the way, I am one of the few who also thinks that Mitt would be a good SOS. Why? He has real work experience. Plus he was a Governor. And, he is a "fixer" (the SLC Olympics).

Truthfully, I am very pleased with Trump's picks so far (with the exception of Mitch McConnell's wife). I really like the retired generals he has picked so far. The only one I would switch out if I could would be Flynn. I would put Jack Keane in that spot instead. Keane is a retired four star general as compared to Flynn who is a retired three star. Plus Keane does not have the baggage that Flynn seems to have. 

Bottom line is this - so far so good. This next week should be interesting also. Energy and VA still are wide open. Hopefully Mr. Trump will make the right picks on those positions (like Pete Hegseth at VA) as well as firming up the SOS job before next weekend.

Is Russian hacking "fake news"?

"Why in the world would Russia want to meddle in our elections? Like we never did it to Russian elections. Or Israeli elections." 

Oh boy. It was front page news this morning. And on some of the national talk shows. Our current (and almost former) President has ORDERED his intelligence services to find out who in the Kremlin was the culprit. Some think it was Putin himself. And some others say we should impose "personal sanctions" on the Russian leader. Pardon me while I giggle.

There are some things I agree with Donald Trump on. And, there are other issue on which I disagree with him. When Trump said he admired Putin as a leader, I agreed with him (sort of). Not that I condone Putin's expansionist ventures. Nor his continued human rights violations. But he did do one thing of merit. After the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved and Russia was in shambles. Even though still bristling with nuclear missiles, it appeared that the glory days of Russia were over. On that issue, many of us were so wrong.

Vladimir Putin was the best thing which ever happened to Russia. He really is. He made the Russians believe in themselves again. And as Russia was ascending, we elected Barack Obama. Under Obama we started to descend. Then all of a sudden, Russia did not look as us as a superior super power. And many times not even an equal. Russia became the Bear again while our President just became a bystander. 

Flash forward to the 2016 election. Why in the world would Russia want to meddle in our elections? Like we never did it to Russian elections. Or Israeli elections. What I mean to say is this - I don't think they did, but if they did, they were just following our lead. 

Also, I think Putin believed Hillary to be "trigger happy". She could have led our nations into a war which nobody wanted. On the other hand, Trump is a deal maker. Putin could sit across the table with Trump and come away with a deal which would be good for Russian - and not aggravate America. 

Here is my opinion. And by the way, I am a retired Cold Warrior. Russia was my enemy for many years. Today I feel different. I don't care if Russia meddled or not. If they did, we need to beef up our cyber security for next time. If Trump can deal with Putin in a civilized way - we all benefit. And that is great. By the way - I am not talking about letting Russia get away with murder.

Bottom line is this. We tried it for eight years with a "President Bystander" and that did not work well at all. Now we will try it with a President who knows how to "negotiate the deal". As far as I am concerned, the jury is out until we see how that works for us.