Is Minnesota good or bad to live in?

"This would not be an article by the Bird without a closing curmudgeon type of remark. After putting up with my love fest of things which really work well in this state, what is my biggest heartburn? The politics. I loathe the prairie populist type of politics that Garrison Kellior hoisted upon this state." 

Now that - is a very good question! Is Minnesota a good place to live in, or has it seen it better days. I know, I know - I could write a novelette on how the massive fraud has dimmed this state's reputation. Or how the single party rule of the Democrats has taken this state down the funnel of socialism. Or how the Floyd incident has destroyed the concept of law and order in the Twin Cities. But I have addressed these things before, so I wanted to take another slant on this question this morning. And no - I have not been drinking the blue Kool Aide!

Some know and some don't that this weekend I had an unexpected medical procedure. So why bring that up? As much as I crab about many of the things which could be better in this state, I will NEVER complain about the skills and knowledge of our medical community. In my opinion, Minnesota is second to none when it comes to getting good medical care. If I could pick one thing which would stand out heads and tails above anything else - it would be simply that. If you get sick or need to get fixed - this is the place to be.

Next thing which is good (very good, really), is the state park system in Minnesota. From the history, to accessibility, to the care and feeding there of - our state park system is a model for the rest of the nation to follow. A few years ago, shortly after my wife and I retired, we joined the Passport Club. What is that? A journey to all of the seventy some parks in the state. The journey took us far and wide in this state - many of the parks delighted us and amazed us. Very few (if any), disappointed us. Once we finished visiting all of the parks (and had the stickers to prove it), we received an engraved plaque to hang on a wall. As I pen this, it is mounted by the chair I sit in.

Finally (and this will sound trite to some) - our roadside stops to rest in. It was not until my wife hit the highways and byways of this great nation that we witnessed some very inferior highway rest stops. Heck, we thought all rest stops looked and felt like the ones in Minnesota. We were wrong. We have the best in the nation - hands down.

This would not be an article by the Bird without a closing curmudgeon type of remark. After putting up with my love fest of things which really work well in this state, what is my biggest heartburn? The politics. I loathe the prairie populist type of politics that Garrison Kellior hoisted upon this state. 

How so? In my lifetime, this state has gone from a 50/50 bar (politically) to a rotting candy bar loaded with fruits and nuts. And that one thing, that "aw crap" thing - can wipe out all the good things which I just said about this state. And that is my story, sad but true.   

 

 

A real Jurassic Park coming soon???

"Then the age-old question comes up - just because we can do something, should we? I know we are not on the top of the food chain on this planet right now, but if we start making 40-foot dinos with lots of teeth, we could tumble down a few more pegs."

Okay - this must be a joke - right? What do you mean we are going to try and make "de-extinction" a real thing? And how is this even possible? Using Amber like Michael Crinton suggested in his now famous book Jurassic Park? Or is it using some substitute cells which are just close enough to fool nature? Where is a good place to try? A T-Rex perhaps? Or maybe something a bit easier - like the Dodo Bird.

Well then, a Dodo Bird it is. A Texas company, called Colossal Biosciences, is going to try to use a Nicobar Pigeon (a close living relative of the Dodo Bird), to try and tweak the DNA just enough to bring back this relic from the past. But wait - what if this works? What if we can bring back something which is extinct? Does that open the door for other dearly departed critters?Like Dinos? Or maybe some Wooly Mammoths? 

"Oh, what a world" (said the Wicked Witch as she melted in the Wizard of Oz). In ten years, we could have millions of Tesla humanoid robots, walking around town, with their primary objective to clean up all the dino poo which is on the sidewalks. Or speaking of the good Wizard, how about making some flying monkeys? Once you open up Pandora's Box in mixing up some new or former DNA, where does that lead us? Heck, who wants to see a science fiction movie, when all you need do is go out into your front yard.

I think what is happening with this entire field of DNA engineering and gene splicing, is science fiction will so soon start looking like science. Then the age-old question comes up - just because we can do something, should we? I know we are not on the top of the food chain on this planet right now, but if we start making 40-foot dinos with lots of teeth, we could tumble down a few more pegs. I have seen enough of the Jurassic sequels and spin-offs to know this does not always end up well for mankind.

In any event, keep an eye on Texas to see what they are cooking up. In fact, keep an eye on the skies to see if you spot anything which looks a tad like a Dodo Bird. Me? I will be hiding in my bunker, thank you very much!   

Judgement Day

 

"Oh, sinner (wo)man, where you going to run to? Oh, sinner (wo)man where you going to run to? Oh, sinner (wo)man, where you going to run to - oh, on that day..."

Sinnerman

Nina Simone

This is it. Today is the day. As the old saying goes, "the chickens have come home to roost." Today at 9am (CDT), Aimee Bock will make the short drive from Sherburne County jail to the federal building in Minneapolis. There, she will learn her sentence. Rumor has it the feds are going to ask for 50 years. At Aimee's age, that would probably be a life sentence. Aimee's defense team, however, thinks that 3 years would be more appropriate. Why? (In their words) - Aimee was only one of many who knew about or carried out this massive fraud. Who were the others? To save her skin, Aimee might be getting ready to sing like a songbird.

And (this may or may not be a coincidence), later in the morning the AG, HUD Secretary and Dr. Oz will be arriving in town to announce a HUGE new fraud investigation in Minnesota. Could it be that Walz, Ellison and Omar will be fingered as part of this Feeding the Future mess? As one news talking head recently said, the governor and AG in MN are either dirty or dumb. And Omar? Her district is right in the middle of the epicenter of this mess.

For those who have been waiting for the "ship to hit the sand", today might be that day. I, like many others of my ilk, would love to see heads roll. Lots and lots of heads. This fraud (from what we have been told), was so broad, so pervasive, the laundry list of the guilty could be long and legendary. And from what Nick Shirley has said in the past, Minnesota might only be the tip of the iceberg. But why Minnesota? Perception of "Minnesota Nice" made for easy marks. Maybe we should change that moniker from "Minnesota Nice" to "Minnesota Naive". 

Minnesota really does need to clean house. At one time, we could look over at Illinois and snicker. After generations of corrupt Democrat government, the entire state was for sale. In our more pious moments, we would think that could NEVER happen in Minnesota. Well, it did. In fact, we have knocked Chicago right off the front page when it comes to government corruption. Lucky us.

If Kamala had won the election, would this massive crime ever have seen the light of day? I doubt it. It would have been one bunch; all bunch for the dirty dozen. But Kamala did not win. And even though the inmates are running the asylum in Minnesota state government, we have a new sheriff in town (that is - in Washington). And as Bob Dylan would sign about, "A hard rain is going to fall."

Judgement Day. It is here for at least Aimee Bock. Maybe more will fall before all is said and done. Oh, sinner (wo)man, where you going to run to? Good question. Maybe only to prison.   

There is hope for Great Britian!

"A nuclear Iran would be a nightmare. The IRGC has shown its strips and spots many times. They are bad news. They will try to bully the region using their nukes as cudgels. No, NATO needed to, and still needs to, back the US in bringing a lasting peace to the Middle East. That is what friends and allies are for."

I will admit it. I was willing and able to write off one of our longest held allies. Why? The UK of today compared to the UK I did business with thirty years ago, are not nearly the same. In fact, the recent pictures I have seen of London, look nothing like the London of yesteryear. What happened?

First off, unfettered immigration. A loss of British culture to be replaced of something very strange, at times very evil. Plus, there was this slide towards a more Euro form of socialism. All that became too much, too much, too much for their former besties across the pond. And then when Keir Starmer rejected our request to use Diego Garcia to land and refuel our bombers at in support of the Iran War - that was the last straw.

But wait - there is hope for the citizens of Great Britian after all! It seems there is a ground swell of revised patriotism with many on them. So much so, many have taken to the streets with their Union Jacks in hand. It is as if the light bulb can come back on. Their beloved London started looking like something from a faraway land, with far away customs. That plus they did not like the way their Prime Minister was treating a close ally. But what about the King? How does he feel? Not the same as the Prime Minister. The King is still on very good terms with the US of A.

Great Britian is not the only Euro nation which is waking up to find their good-hearted immigration system has turned into a bit of an invasion. The problem, however, is once the doors are left wide open, and immigration becomes unfettered, it is a hard thing to turn around without much social discord. I mean, just look at our country. The social unrest in Minneapolis alone last winter was bad. And it is not over yet. 

Going forward, we need a strong NATO. That includes you, Canada. We all need to pay our dues (to what we all agreed to) and have each other's backs in time or turmoil. What the US is doing with Iran will make the region (including Europe) safer for everybody. A nuclear Iran would be a nightmare. The IRGC has shown its strips and spots many times. They are bad news. They will try to bully the region using their nukes as cudgels. No, NATO needed to, and still needs to, back the US in bringing a lasting peace to the Middle East. That is what friends and allies are for.

I enjoyed my time in the UK. I liked the people; I liked the culture. I sure hope the good folks in and around London can restore their previous balance. Right now, London is a mess. I would not go back there right now for any reason. I will, however, wish them the best. The people in the UK deserve so much better than what they have right now.        

Our expanding menu...

 

"What should our legacy be? For some of us, planting mustard seeds. Doing something which will outlast us. Something which matters. Why? At the end of the day, sometimes there is more than just the end of the day. There is legacy. And eternal legacy matters the most of all."

Relax folks - this post has nothing to do with food. It does, however, have everything to do with the term "menu". Like in a menu, there are several choices to choose from. Or in the case of life, the menu of things that can go wrong with you. You don't get to choose from the menu - the menu chooses for you. And that is the terrible irony - or as some put it, "this is that thing called life." 

The irony of life's menu is no matter how well you eat, how well you live, how much you exercise, or even how often you go to church - a routine doctor's wellness visit can turn into a life changing event. Diseases on the menu which you may have never heard of, can become an unwelcomed guest into your life. And some things which can go askew in your health, can be fixed by some of our almost mystical doctors who practice medicine in Minnesota. And there are other things on the menu, that all the skill in the world cannot yet touch. Life changing, and yes, in some cases, life ending.

An old adage that the old timers would use from time to time was this - "Life - nobody gets out of here alive." True words. The life expectancy in this country is still 76 years old. For those in my graduating class, those words do not ring hollow. Everybody in the class of "67" is either 76 or 77 years old. Or as we would say in the Navy - "we are in the zone".

Why bring up such a morbid subject on an early spring day? Because many of us are aging. As a real good pastor friend of mine told me recently, "We are in that season of life". Which season? The final season. Now many of us are thinking back on what we have done in our lives, maybe what we should have done differently, or done better. But most important - what we can do that counts with the days we have left. Why? Each year, every year, that menu get longer with more items on it. And more and more of the items are not good.

Since we can't go back into our pasts and correct mistake we might have made, and we can't go into the future since our future is not promised to us, all we can do is live for each day. Make each day count. What should our legacy be? For some of us, planting mustard seeds along our path. We could be doing something which will outlast us. Something which matters. Why? At the end of the day, sometimes there is more than just the end of the day. There is legacy. And eternal legacy is what matters most of all.

Come on India! Time to get engaged!

 

"By the same token, I don't want my kids nor grandies to have to put up with theocratic nut balls in Persia anymore. No nukes for Iran. Period. Finish the job Mr. President. If it gets messy, it will get messy. We are bigger, badder and tougher than Iran. Finish the job." 

Guess what happened a few days ago in the Strait of Hormuz? A ship was sunk. Not just any ship, a ship belonging to India. Wait - I thought both India and Iran were members of BRICS. They are. It is an economic tie rather than a military tie. That being said, it would be similar to the United States sinking another NATO vessel in the Strait. What did India do to retaliate? Nothing. Nada.

India has a navy and a respectable one at that. Not as big as China's but still large. One might ask why India does not send a few ships over to the Strait to unclog that mess. To protect their own shipping. Good question. The same question should be asked of China, who has the world's largest navy right now. A little help, please. After all, most of China's oil comes thru the Strait. 

Meanwhile, as the world waits, Iran has really messed things up in the Strait. How to fix it? Get Iran to agree to no nukes ever. They do that, the congestion in the Strait goes away. But what if they don't agree to that demand? What if they never do? The status quo right now is not good. Some in this country don't want any more war with Iran. Some are turning a blind eye to the dangers of a nuclear Iran. Meanwhile, the price of gas at the pump is almost confiscatory. Some are saying we should pull our troops out of the area and take a laissez-faire attitude towards Iran and its nuclear desires. Then gas can go back to normal.

Here is another twist to the issue, and countries who use the Strait should sit up and take notice. I read something recently which said the IRGC likes being in control of the Strait. Charging a toll in order to use it. Countries they don't like would be refused passage and those they do like could pass (for of course, a fee). The money raised could be used to build up their military and defenses again. It would be like the war never happened.

I guess I fall in the "finish the job" camp rather than the "tuck and run" crowd. I don't like these high gas prices better than anybody else. It cost me almost $100 to fill up my truck the other day. Ouch! By the same token, I don't want my kids nor grandies to have to put up with theocratic nut balls in Persia anymore. No nukes for Iran. Period. Finish the job Mr. President. If it gets messy, it will get messy. We are bigger, badder and tougher than Iran. Finish the job. 

    

China - was it worth it?

"Ever wonder why so many things (weapons in particular) look like ours? Coincidence? Maybe, but probably not. The Chinese are excellent in stealing our IP. This unfettered theft has cost us billions. We know for a fact they do it - even though they deny it. Trust, yet verify? With these guys trust is a four-letter word and not a five-letter word. I studied them for years while in the Navy. As Yoda would say - I trust them not!"

One of the best things which came out of the China delegation last week, was the offer and acceptance for President Xi to visit the White House in late September. Why was that important? Besides the detente issue, it would be a great chance for Trump to hold Xi's feet to the fire on any new trade agreements which were made. No offense to China, but their track record on walking the walk after talking the talk needs some improvement.

One of the things I felt for sure would be a slam dunk agreement on, was China sending part of their new and massive navy over to the Strait of Hormuz to help "unclog the drain". China, who imports most of their oil via the Strait seems to have the most to lose by having a dysfunctional Strait. But nope - no deal on that front. China did agree to buy more of our oil, but we will see if that agreement sticks.

How is the trust level with China these days? You mean, the China which flew a spy balloon over the entire United States when Biden was president? Here was where a picture was worth a thousand words. Every single person who received ANY small gift or token from the Chinese, had to surrender such prior to getting on board Air Force One on the ride home. The message? We trust you as far as we can throw you China. We know they would plant a bug on AF One if they had the chance.

The farmers in the Midwest are particularly interested to see how this new soybean deal is going to work out. Why? The Midwest farmers don't want to be left at the alter again (so to speak), if China reneges on buying our soybeans. We grow a high-quality soybean, and it would so very nice to have access to that huge Chinese market. But as we know, politics and geo-political issues can ruin the best laid plans.

Ever wonder why so many things (weapons in particular) look like ours? Coincidence? Maybe, but probably not. The Chinese are excellent in stealing our IP. This unfettered theft has cost us billions. We know for a fact they do it - even though they deny it. Trust, yet verify? With these guys trust is a four-letter word and not a five-letter word. I studied them for years while in the Navy. As Yoda would say - "I trust them not!"