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.

End of the 24 month year...

"Will I be singing Auld Lang Syne before my 9pm bedtime tonight? Hardly. "Don't let the door hit you on the fanny on the way out", might be more appropriate. What can we look forward to in 2022? Stay tuned for this weekend's edition. I will try to see the glass half full, instead of empty, and lying broken on the floor."  

January 2020 to December 2021. 24 months. Two calendar years, which kind of morphed into one. How bad was it? I don't know of anyone, who would want to relive these two years. I mean, looking back, these 24 months were brutal. Besides the China virus mucking EVERYTHING up, we lost Donald Trump. Lost him to a old politician who is (sorry) - losing his marbles. We lost Rush - our mainstay. We also lost John Madden - "Mr. Football" to many of us. Lots of icons - gone.

In two years, we have gone from energy independence, to begging OPEC to pump more oil. By the way - it is a proven fact that the United States has the cleanest energy production in the world. Cleaner than the Saudis. Cleaner than the rest of OPEC. A lot cleaner than Russia. And a whole lot cleaner than China or India. So what did Biden gain by ruining our energy independence? Cleaner air? No. Less global warming? No. More inflation? Yes. Stagflation? Maybe.

Any good news? Any at all? Actually, yes. Project Warp Speed. Without Donald Trump pushing the envelope and cutting mountains of red tape, many medical experts say thousands more would have died from the China virus. Abraham Accord. Donald Trump and Jared Kushner proved you can mix oil and water. Israel, who has been at war with different Arab states since 1948, signed some peace agreements with a handful of Arab states. This was beyond good news - it was Earth shattering.

Okay - can we stick a fork in this 24 month year and call it done? Please??!!?? Not so fast. Is 2022 is going to start out looking like the 25th month of this most unusual biennial? Probably. In fact, medical experts say in mid-January, we will have the highest infection rate from the Omicron variant since the pandemic started. Some experts are hopeful that once Omicron has run its course, the endemic part of the roller coaster ride will begin. But until that happens, look for "same stuff, different day."

As far as our government goes, we are stuck until at least November of 2022. Then things might start to look up. Until then, higher gas prices, higher utility prices, more bare shelves, and container ships, stacked up like cordwood outside of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Elections have consequences, and we have a big one right now.

Will I be singing Auld Lang Syne before my 9pm bedtime tonight? Hardly. "Don't let the door hit you on the fanny on the way out", might be more appropriate. What can we look forward to in 2022? Stay tuned for this weekend's edition. I will try to see the glass half full, instead an empty glass, lying broken on the floor.  

     

Only the "getaway driver"?

"Is this the way our justice system is suppose to work? Nope. However, if you think we have two different tiers of justice in this country, you are probably right on the mark. Now we will go on to see how the 'deep state' will muck with the 2022 election. Hopefully, this will not be deja vu, all over again." 

Yesterday, we learned the fate of the woman with a name few can pronounce - Ghislaine Maxwell. Was she guilty? In the eyes of the jury she was - also in the minds of many who have been paying attention. One of the talking heads (lawyer type), referred to Maxwell as only being the "getaway driver". That did not diminish the fact that she was in fact Epstein's pimp, who did horrible things to young ladies. The lawyer's point was simply this - she was only a small fish. Many of the big fish are still swimming in this sea of filth and corruption.

The fear that many of us have is this - the "deep state", which protects even its most corrupt citizenry, will cover this up. Convict and sentence Maxwell to decades behind bars, and then it will be que sera sera for her. Will she have the same sad and suspicious ending that Epstein had? Maybe.

Speaking of Epstein, there was a well known MA who was interviewed last night. His story has never changed. Based on some broken bones in the neck, it would have been impossible for Epstein to have killed himself. Not improbable - impossible. Then why was this not investigated further? The "deep state", plain and simple.

The sordid tales of the rich and famous are probably going to die with Epstein and Maxwell. What happened on the island, will stay on the island. What happened on the Lolita Express, will stay on the Lolita Express. As the old saying goes, dead men (or women), tell no secrets. And there might be a boatload of secrets to yet to tell.

It is estimated there are over 100 victims of Epstein and Maxwell still out there. Anyone of them could be a star witness in a future trial. But someone would need the courage to take on the "deep state". The "deep state" whose tentacles reach far and wide. What then, will be the probable outcome? All the pedo activity on Epstein's island, will be swept under the waves. Never to be heard from again.

Is this the way our justice system is suppose to work? Nope. However, if you think we have two different tiers of justice in this country, you are probably right on the mark. Now we will go on to see how the "deep state" will muck with the 2022 election. Hopefully, this will not be deja vu, all over again. 

The war on the unmasked!

"I would like to say this pandemic has brought out the best in us. But it has not. It has however, brought out the worst in us." 

Okay. Forget about the "war on the un-vaxxed". This is far more serious. What is it? The war on the unmasked. It is critically important that we all wear masks, both indoor and outdoors. Why? As one doctor said it so eloquently - "They are facial decorations. No more, no less." But wait just a dang minute! How about keeping us all safe for this rapidly mutating virus? The vast majority of masks, are about as useless as a screen door on a submarine, in keeping you safe from the virus. All they do, is contain YOUR cough and sneeze moisture globules from becoming airborne. 

Every once in a while, doctors like Mike Osterholm or the Most Reverend Fauci, will slip up and tell the truth about cloth masks. Like - they are worthless. Just facial decorations. Then why in the world, is there such a fuss about everyone wearing a mask again? Power and control. Period. There can be no other reason. I wish I could say for personal safety, but that would be a lie. 

Okay - what about N95 masks? I have heard for over a year now how great they are. Here are the facts as I know them. A CERTIFIED N95 mask WILL filter out 95% of all airborne particles. Compared to a cloth mask, they are excellent. Will they make you bullet proof? Close. K95 masks are supposed to be similar to N95, but are made to Chinese standards. You can guess how much protection they will give you. There are also counterfeit N95 masks which offer much less protection than a CERTIFIED N95 mask.

The other day on an airplane, some 80 year old gentleman was obeying all the rules. He was masked up. When snacks came, he pulled his mask down to have some pretzels or something. From out of nowhere, some "Karen" came over to his seat, and got all up in his business. Slapped him, spit on him, yelled at him. For what? He was following the rules (which make no sense). Anyhow, "Karen" got arrested when the plane landed.

I have been yelled at by an male "Karen" a few months ago. I went into a Chinese restaurant to pick up some take out food. I was in there less than a minute. I was not wearing a mask. But who cares? Well, this male "Karen" sure cared! He started yelling at me, accusing me of putting him at danger. For just a brief second, the old me started to surface. I was ready to go over where he was sitting, and give him a piece of my mind - or worse. But I didn't. I just paid for my food and left.

I would like to say this pandemic has brought out the best in us. But it has not. It has however, brought out the worst in us. I know what it has done for me. It has made more of a libertarian out of me. I could care less if someone is vaxxed or not. I could care less if someone is masked up or not. I will not say anything, either way. All I expect in return, is the same courtesy. Please!     

The United States of Misery?

"The United States of Misery. Never used to be this way. But it is now. Why? Joe Biden. Period. End of story."    

Now that Christmas is over, I can vent a bit. Every morning, before my feet hit the floor, I turn on the news to see what the latest, and no longer the greatest, is. This morning was no exception. The usual suspects make up the first few news stories. What are they? The virus. Crime. Southern border. Inflation. Supply chain issues. And President Brandon seems to be somewhere between confused and flummoxed on how to deal with any of these major issues. Meanwhile, each of these issues seem to chip away at our once great quality of living in these United States. So much so, we now might be living in the United States of Misery. 

Joe Biden ran on "fixing the virus" which Donald Trump let slip through his fingers (Biden's words - not mine). After less than a year, we are still in the same bunch of deep weeds we have been living in in since March of 2020. Maybe even deeper weeds. This latest mutation, albeit "milder", is off the charts with how transmissible it is. Flights are being cancelled, football games postponed, cruises diverted, some schools going back to distance learning, and of course everyone's favorite - (per Fauci) - masks forever.

Crime? How is it possible, crime can be out of control in this many cities? What did Obama's former pastor say? "America's chickens have come home to roost." Speaking of Obama, that is where this lawlessness all started. No respect for cops. Which led to "defunding police", or "reimagining law enforcement", which led to "no bail offenses", which led to thousands of repeat offenders with no consequences. What has Slo Joe done to fix this mess? Not a damn thing. It is all part of his "equity" initiative, by allowing reparations via stealing and robbing. Plus - not only do the socialists want to defund the police - they want to take the guns away from the citizens. Why? You tell me. 

Our southern border. Do you hear we caught another terrorist down there? Heaven only knows how many terrorists are "got aways". We have record fentanyl deaths, with more and more, now coming over our porous southern border. With the state of Texas building their own border wall, the rest of the border states continue to be a super highway for hundreds of thousands of illegals. Add to that, untested and untreated Covid, drugs, terrorists, gang members, and traffickers. What is life like right now, living by the Rio Grande? Don't ask.

Our supply chain issues continue to plague us. Biden's solution to having the Los Angles and Long Beach ports all gummed up with container ships, is to move them further our to sea. Problem solved. If you can't see the problem, then it is no longer a problem. Classic Ron Klain type of thinking. And who is Ron Klain? One of the main puppet masters. His love is for power - not country. Biden is only a tool he uses to gain that power.

In late 2020, we were so looking forward to 2021. Be done with this crap. However, we were wary about this new President. Very few trusted this life long politician, who tells lies with great abandon. What happened? Thanks to Joe Biden, 2021 turned out to be a year bathed in misery. And how does 2022 look right now? More of the same. The only bright spot is November. Unless Joe Manchin flips parties before then, we are stuck with this status quo of misery until November.

The United States of Misery. Never used to be this way. But it is now. Why? Joe Biden. Period. End of story.