Is it impossible for normals to get elected to state offices in Minnesota?

 

Who knows? Maybe Minnesota will shock the nation this year. And maybe, just maybe - Minnesota Morons can vote like Minnesota Mastros for a change. Just once. Just maybe.  

Just days away from the midterms, early voting has started, and some of the latest polling is out. According to this polling (if you can believe it), the arsonists who start the fires are on the verge of being re-elected either to the same office, or another state office. Does that make sense to anybody who draws breath? In sports, when a team flops, a new coach is picked. Why? According to the ownership, "it is time to go in a new direction." Not in Minnesota with the Minnesota Morons voting. We always vote for the same people who started the fire. Never a new direction. Never.

I have been involved with Minnesota politics when we had a simply excellent slate of candidates. All qualified and normal. But the Minnesota Morons did not want qualified and normal. They wanted the same old bunch of nincompoops who can barely even finding their way to the bathroom in the morning. This year however, it is ever worse. We had jailers who were asleep at the wheel, who allowed fraudsters to steal us blind. Their punishment by the Minnesota Morons? Vote them back into office.

And every year, we hear the same canard coming out of the DFL Pravda machine. "All the red team wants is tax breaks for the rich." Really? I am not rich, and I could use a tax break. In fact, the Big Beautiful Bill really helped this family. It helped a lot of families who are not rich. But who cares about the facts. Just keep that tired old lie replaying every other year. Plus - as a bonus, the DFL Pravda machine can use the Donald Trump Boogie Man thing one more time. Saying all the MNGOP candidates are tied to Trump's hip is laughable when in reality, Trump does not know who most of these people are.

For governor this year, we have the first African American woman running. Not just a token - she is highly accomplished and experienced. One would think in this state, where color means so much, she would be a shoe-in. Nope. The pale and stale Hotdish Amy is leading her. Why? Ask a Minnesota Moron. And for the open senate seat, we have a true outsider. Somebody with name recognition. Running against one of the jailers who allowed the fraudsters to run wild. How is she doing? Running behind. Just to keep Minnesota broken and the laughingstock of the nation, we will re-elect a slate of born losers. Again. And again.

Who knows? Maybe Minnesota will shock the nation this year. And maybe, just maybe - Minnesota Morons can vote like Minnesota Mastros for a change. Just once. Just maybe.  

 

Live broadcast of a military execution

 

"All I know is this - for killing 13 innocents, he does not deserve to see the light of day again. Be it because he is dead, or because he is locked up for life, either one is fine with me. I just don't ever want to hear about this guy ever again."

Sometime in December, unless the courts stop it, the first firing squad execution by the military since WWII will take place. With some, having the Fort Hood killer meet his fate is just fine with them. With others, killing somebody by firing squad (even though this is a bad, bad man), is not okay. But the President and the Secretary of War are okay with this punishment and have cleared the road (so to speak) for this execution to happen.

The crimes in which he is accused (and found guilty of) are heinous. He (I won't use his name) brought a loaded gun into Fort Hood, and in a cold and ruthless way, gunned down and killed 13 innocent people. Why did not any of these soldiers fire back? Because even though it is a military base, the rules were no loaded guns could be brought on base. Thus, for this Muslim murderer, it was like target practice. Not only were 13 killed, but scores were injured. To add insult to injury, he yelled "Allah Akbar" as he was pulling the trigger. 

In many countries, a crime like this would have been met with some kind of capital punishment. It would have been swift and over. This crime, however, took place in 2009. That is over 15 years waiting for some kind of punishment. But back to the livestreaming of the execution. The question I ask is "why"? Watching some bullets tear through his chest and then see him slumped over would not satisfy any supposed blood lust in me. Nor would it be many others whom I know. Don't get me wrong - for what he did, deserves the ultimate punishment. But maybe just do it privately.

If this happens in December, I am hoping that by January it will all be forgotten. A bad man doing bad things got his deserved punishment. Period. End of story. If the courts commute his sentence to life with no parole, I am okay with that also - if he has to spend every day in a Super Max. All I know is this - for killing 13 innocents, he does not deserve to see the light of day again. Be it because he is dead, or because he is locked up for life, either one is fine with me. I just don't ever want to hear about this guy ever again.

Usually always, a slow-motion disaster

 

"This Hurricane Isaias which is now on land and churning towards the East Coast, is a perfect example of how much in advance these monster storms warn us. In other words, they 'telegraph their punches' a long time before they hit shore."

I have told this story before. As a young lad, fresh into the Navy, I was in my first hurricane - and it was a doozy. Hurricane Camille in 1969 hit the Gulf Coast, and I had just arrived in Pensacola for "A" School. As a veteran of many Minnesota thunderstorms and a couple of tornados, the Cat 5 monster storm gave me the "pucker factor". But I will say this - it took days for this storm, churning and turning in the Gulf, to decide which patch of land it was going to make landfall on. Unlike Minnesota thunderstorms which could pop up out of nowhere, Camille took just about forever to make landfall.

Years ago, I heard a national weather guy refer to hurricanes and typhoons as "slow motion disasters". After my experience with Camille, I could not agree more. Many other natural disasters give you very little warning. Earthquakes, flash floods, volcanos, tornados, and forest fires can come on very quickly. At least with a hurricane (even like with Hurricane Isaias) there was quite a bit of prep time. Or - evacuation time. 

This Hurricane Isaias which is now on land and churning towards the East Coast, is a perfect example of how much in advance these monster storms warn us. In other words, they "telegraph their punches" a long time before they hit shore. I was in a couple of minor typhoons while serving in the Western Pacific and it was the same. Although I will say this - after going through Camille, those puny typhoons were almost laughable. No worse than Minnesota thunderstorms in my opinion.

Today the storm has left the Gulf Coast and has turned into a real rain maker further inland. The task of clean-up is now in order. Compared to some recent storms which have visited Florida recently, this one was weaker, and not as serious. Most houses came through just fine, as the building codes in Florida have changed over the years to build more robust and durable homes. That makes perfectly good sense to me. 

But now in the northland, we are closing in on the halfway point in October, and the thoughts of snow, ice and cold are starting to flood our thoughts of the upcoming winter. Our winter storms are really a pain, but are nothing compared to other natural disasters. Winter in Minnesota is just long, gray, and cold. I have tried many times to come up with a positive attitude about spending six months in a freezer but keep coming up short. Where would I rather be in the winter? Florida. Storms and all, I would take Florida any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

  

Buying a home? Maybe hopeless, helpless, and homeless

"I don't know what the solution is. I really don't. Maybe tiny homes? If somebody would like to live in one. Or maybe generational homes. I ran that one by our oldest daughter and the silence was deafening. Until we figure out a solution to this most vexing problem, buying a house for many is like taking a train to nowhere." 

Ever wonder why home ownership for many these days is now like being stuck in the mud? Is it the rising interest rates or is it something else? When we built this house almost 42 years ago, we were stuck with a sky-high ARM rate, just to get in the game. All I wanted every time I made a payment, was for the interest rates to go down far enough so I could refinance and get a fixed 8% rate. And they did, and we got our 8% rate.

But today, the interest rates are less than 8%. Here is my theory - and I am sticking with it. We had just finished a kitchen remodel when Covid was in full stride. Yes, we did get caught up in the supply chain issues. In fact, we still don't have our front entry way closet doors done. But not only were things scarcer, but the new costs on these items were much, much higher. I did not give it much thought back then - I just wanted our job finished up.

Then I got our new annual bill for homeowners' insurance. I was a heck of a lot higher than the previous year. When I called our insurance company to get it straightened out, they informed me it was not in error. That the cost to replace our house went up quite a bit. Here is the rub. It is not the interest rates, although lower rates could help home buyers. It is the enormous cost to build a house. The past year, we have had three houses sell in our neighborhood. Each sold for over $500,000. And we live in a modest neighborhood. No McMansions here!

We have millions of people nationwide who would like to get into a house - any house - and can't. They are stuck. The old Oren Thompson starter homes are just not being built anymore. Plus, with the new standards and rules for construction, all those costs are sunk right into the finished product. We have homes sitting waiting for a buyer to qualify, and the people trying to sell them are not going anyplace. Everybody is stuck.

I don't know what the solution is. I really don't. Maybe tiny homes? If somebody would like to live in one. Or maybe generational homes. I ran that one by our oldest daughter and the silence was deafening. Until we figure out a solution to this most vexing problem, buying a house for many is like taking a train to nowhere. 

Is the Mall of America a soft target for the bad guys?

"Be it a Somali or somebody else, the MOA remains a huge soft target in Minnesota. Every time my daughter wants to take our grandies to the MOA, I always give her a warning. Not safe. Keep your head on a swivel. These are dangerous times. We are not as immune to the world's wars coming to our shores as we once were."  

It is now, or at least has been in the past, the largest shopping mall in America. It has been the location of feral youth incidents many times. Why? It is like a magnet for trouble. And because of its size, providing protection against people who would do it harm is a concern. Truthfully, I have worried about this for years. It is way, way too tempting for bad actors who would like to make some kind of a statement.

Yesterday, it was reported that some young Somali, who had been radicalized and wanted to join ISIS, was going to do great harm to our MOA. A Somali? Just like the group behind most of the fraud in Minnesota, and the group behind this new rash of gang violence in the southern burbs, now is behind of one of the most serious terror threats in our recent history.

The news has reported it this way. For two years now, the FBI has had eyes on this young man. Since he was 16. He wanted to make a statement which would be a national splash. Like buying an AR-15 with ammo, going to the MOA when there was a huge Hmong event, and then killing between 30 to 60 innocent people. Plus (this is antidotal as I heard it on another source), he thought the MOA was owned by Jewish folks, so that made it all the better.

This is not going over well with the social media posts I have seen today and yesterday. Seems the folks on the left have lost their voice over this one. And the folks on the right? They are in an uproar. Is it possible that this group is just not fitting in well here? They don't like our laws (Sharia would be better, thank you), they don't like our religion, and they don't want to fit in with the rest of us. Plus, our climate is NOTHING like where they are from. Then why stay here?

Be it a Somali or somebody else, the MOA remains a huge soft target in Minnesota. Every time my daughter wants to take our grandies to the MOA, I always give her a warning. Not safe. Keep your head on a swivel. These are dangerous times. We are not as immune to the world's wars coming to our shores as we once were.  

  

Will AI become a fixture in Hollywood?

"I guess a few years ago the SAG folks knew more about what was coming than the rest of us did. I have recently read that AI will put almost 50% of the current types of jobs out of business. Little did I think that actors might be one of those jobs. But hey - with or without real actors, the show must go on. And it will." 

I remember when the last strike was held by the SAG (Screen Actors Guild). One of the big sticking points (which I don't think ever got resolved) was how to keep AI out of their business. I found it somewhat laughable, as what type of future shock were they talking about? I could not imagine what a film, be it long or short, could look anywhere near real just using bits and bytes from some computer. I was wrong.

AI is not yet in Hollywood, but it sure is being tampered with by AI pros outside the movie industry. On YouTube recently, there is a plethora of different AI "shorts", some just okay, and others are jaw dropping good. So good, you need to pinch yourself to believe it is only AI, and not a real movie. But why go there? Don't we have enough entertainment coming out of Hollywood these days? Why add in some artificial stuff?

Recently I read about a movie which will soon be released on Netflix. It is called Catacombs, and up until recently, it was deemed to be "unmakeable". There the script sat, gathering dust. Then an AI developer came along and offered to take a stab at it. Using 3,300 AI generations and about 250 hours of labor, this one person made Catacombs into a movie. No actors. No sets to build. No special effects. Just a movie, with a plot, and fake actors that when they died, their AI avatars really died. 

Watching some of the short offerings on YouTube, I am amazed and fascinated by the amount of finite detail that AI will put into scenes. That is part of the reason that everything looks and acts so real. Even the movements of people, their facial movements, leave nothing to chance. Everything looks dead on real. Then I had this thought - if this is how AI looks in 2026, how will it look in 2030? Will this signal unemployment for thousands of actors? No more expensive screen sets? No more special effects? No more stunt doubles? 

I guess a few years ago the SAG folks knew more about what was coming than the rest of us did. I have recently read that AI will put almost 50% of the current types of jobs out of business. Little did I think that actors might be one of those jobs. But hey - with or without real actors, the show must go on. And it will. 

Speed of light, baby!

"Someday, maybe someday, we will find out to use worm holes, portals, or warp drive. Until that time comes however, even the thought of traveling even 10% of the speed of light, remains just that - a thought. Maybe the Fermi Paradox is more than just a fancy term - maybe it is true." 

When I worked at IBM, we had an inside joke about any system that we were working on that was slow. At least one person would say with a wink and a nod, "That is what I like about working at IBM - everything should operate at the speed of light!" That is a true statement. By definition, the speed of a circuit should be as fast as the speed of light - that is, by definition. In reality, it never happens. That being said, NASA is still occupied with the idea of space travel that is at least a fraction of the speed of light. 

NASA would love, love, love to have some kind of propulsion that would obtain 10% of the speed of light. Even 5% would be grand. But 10%? Ready for this one? That would be 67 million miles per hour! Considering our fastest rocket in our inventory can obtain a speed of 430,000 mph, that is like standing still compared to a rocket which can travel at 67 million mph!

If we only had rocket travel that was 10% of the speed of light, we could make it to Mars in a jiffy, and getting to the Moon would be a blip. And then we could get outside our Solar System and visit our closest star - the Alpha Centauri system. Really? Could we? The Alpha Centauri system is about four light years away. Just a walk in the park compared to most distances in the universe. But hold on - even if we could travel at 10% of the speed of light, traveling four light years would take us forty years just to get to Alpha Centauri. Forty years there, forty years back. Now we are almost talking about using a generational ship to get there.

I guess that leaves the idea of visiting the Andromeda Galaxy out of the question. Why? As close as it is to us, it is still over 2,000,000 light years away. Even if we were able to travel at the speed of light, getting to Andromeda would be a non-starter. What does that really mean? Right now, with a top speed of a rocket being 430,000, getting to Mars will take months. Getting to our Moon will take a day. Anything else outside our Solar System, is out of the question. If we really want to see what traveling to the stars is like, turn on an episode of Star Trek.

Someday, maybe someday, we will find out to use worm holes, portals, or warp drive. Until that time comes however, even the thought of traveling even 10% of the speed of light, remains just that - a thought. Maybe the Fermi Paradox is more than just a fancy term - maybe it is true. Maybe the UFOs people have been seeing are more interdimensional than interstellar. Maybe - but if interdimensional travel is real, that would be the subject of another article. Until then, I am good with just being in our neighborhood.