Come together....

"As I asked this Democrat which came to the booth, 'You want a better Minnesota sir, am I correct?' He nodded his head yes. Then I responded , 'We do also - now let's talk.'"

Interesting experience at the fair today while on booth duty. A couple of men came up to the booth looking like they were interested. I figured they were not too interested, as one had a "Dayton-Smith" tee-shirt on. I am not the sharpest blade in the drawer, but I am not stupid either.

It has been many years since I have been "cowed" by a Lefty. By the same token, I have learned (as I have aged) how to disagree without becoming disagreeable. Often not easy, but important. Why? The battleground is not so much preaching to the converted - the battle ground of ideas lies beyond our borders. In the middle and on the Left. Convincing - not arguing.

Back to the two Democrats which came to the booth. They poked around Jeff's literature, his buttons, and then then unloaded their salvo. I was ready for it - I knew it was coming. Every question asked was responded to with a Jeff type answer. As hard as they tried to trap me, it was not going to happen. Then I said to the man wearing the Dayton tee-shirt, "Sir, I bet if we put down on paper everything we hoped for the future of Minnesota, we would have many more agreements than disagreements." He looked at me and nodded his head.

When I was a negotiator for all those many years, I never argued. When that happens, the day is lost. If you can't convince with facts, then maybe your facts are not what they should be. Coming together as a state, convincing the other side your view is right, does not mean obliterating them. Not at all. It means showing the facts as they are. Showing the vision, and how all can benefit. If you can do that the right way, everyone can walk away feeling good about themselves and what they have done.

Myself? I love talking to the middle. More than that, I love talking to the Left. I have never been a good "preaching to the choir" type of guy. Boring. The way you win elections is to convince your way is the better way. Better than the other side. As I asked this Democrat which came to the booth, "You want a better Minnesota sir, am I correct?" He nodded his head yes. Then I responded , "We do also - now let's talk."

Texas or Taxus (once again)...

"I really don't want our people feeling they need to flee to states like Texas anymore. We have a beautiful state right here. We just need to make our state as livable as Texas is year round."

Okay - just a warning. I am going to discuss our eclipse trip earlier this month. Why Bird? What in the world does that have to do with taxes or Texas? Simply this. The young couple next to us with their four kids were visiting from Texas. So in this protracted period we had until the darkness came, we had quite a few conversations. Mostly about the livability and affordability of living in Texas.

By the way - I am not ignorant of the fact that Texas just suffered one of the worst hits from Mother Nature that any state has endured. I think it will be interesting to see the "bounce back" that Texas has after the winds and rains have left the area. Based on the character of Texans, I am thinking it might be sooner rather than later.

Okay. So this is about taxes, right? Texas is not much better than us! Give me a break! Okay - let's check the stats. Income tax in Minnesota - highest bracket almost 10%. Income tax in Texas - zero point zero percent. Well, they have to make that up somewhere! I will bet the "death tax" - estate tax outside of Minnesota. Nope. Minnesota is one of a handful of states who still does the estate tax. Texas? Nada. Zero.

Now I am aggravated! With all them roads in that big, big state - I will bet they are soaking those suckers royal at the gas pump! Wrong again buttercup! Texans pay 20 cents a gallon state tax and we pay 28.5 cents. 

Texas has become inundated with refugees from - California. Why? Taxes. Believe it or not, California has a higher state tax than Minnesota has. Yet no death tax (per say). Somehow Texas has managed to become like a giant version of Anoka County. Good services with very low taxes. Hennepin County on the other hand, is tax central.

To be fair to those who are ready to hop on board this education thing, I will tell you this couple from Texas we met, did home schooling for their four kids. I asked the father if that was due to Texas schools? Nope. Government schools in general in this country. BTW - all four of his kids were cute, precocious, and sharp as a tack.

Minnesota is standing out like a sore thumb right now. Our taxes are killing us. We are so out of step, it is not even funny. Even my liberal friend Dave, pulled the plug and is living a good part of the year in a lower taxed state down south. 

Election season is right around the corner. What will be our direction? Becoming more like Texas which is a magnet for industry and seniors, or the Mark Dayton "Tax Us" state, which is driving everyone (who contributes) away.

We are coming up quickly to the end of Mark Dayton and the tax everything regime. Remember these days as we go forward. Do we have an answer to this mess. Oh, yes we certainly do. Can we "rightsize" our state government? You betcha! Can we compete with Wisconsin for new business? No. We can't - but we can smoke them! We can become the business magnet in the upper Midwest. 

I really don't want our people feeling they need to flee to states like Texas anymore. We have a beautiful state right here. We just need to make our state as livable as Texas is year round.

Had enough yet?

"Had enough yet? I sure have. It is time to have a Governor for all the people, not just the special interests like we have had with Mark Dayton. We get Jeff in the Governor's mansion, keep the House (we have the Senate), and we will truly make Minnesota great once again."

Boy, oh boy. The other day when I had booth duty at Jeff Johnson's booth at the state fair. Did I ever get an ear full. Many of the folks I talked to unloaded on me, and I did not even have to prime them with a question. They were just waiting to unpack a whole bunch of frustration. Why? Are they not happy with how things are going in Minnesota? Not a bit. Not even close.They are sick of trains, endless traffic, high taxes, and way too many free riders. There was more, but this is all which was fit to print.

Who did most of the people point to as the chief "bad guy" in how lousy things are today? If you guessed Mark Dayton, you just won a free pronto pup. While being our Governor, Mark Dayton has done a fine job of living up to his "tax and spend" reputation. In fact, he could be the poster boy. And where do all our hard earned tax dollars go? Hither and thither. Here and there. Or, as many believe, right down the rat hole.

Here is the real burr under the saddle for many of our senior citizens. We are still one of the very few states where seniors need to pay state income tax on Social Security. When Mark Dayton or one of the Democratic leaders are asked why we can't remove it, the answer is jaw dropping.

Before I tell you the answer, I just need to remind everyone of a cold hard fact. This state wastes more money on "crap" than any sane person would do with their personal finances. With that in mind, the answer to why the state still steals part of our Social Security income is - the state "can't afford it". This is the answer given to seniors who have not seen a decent increase in Social Security in just about forever.

Let that sink in just for a minute. The state steals our money from a fund which should not be taxed in the first place, and then tells us they need to keep our money because "they can't afford to give it up???"

One gentleman I was talking with, then asked me the golden question. The one which should have earned a free pronto pup.  "Could you please tell me then, how Wisconsin could do it, and we can't?" Bingo. How could they do it? And South Dakota to boot? Why is it only Minnesota, that can't afford to quit robbing their seniors. 

Just to let you know, these conversations did not end up with people leaving the booth with a dark cloud over their heads. No sir re Bob! I gave them the ray of hope! In November of 2018, when we have our next state wide election, we need to elect Jeff Johnson to be our Governor. It was MARK DAYTON who was the road block to any meaningful tax relief this past session. And that includes the total repeal of Social Security taxation. 

Jeff will fix this. There is so much which needs fixing, it will a yeoman's task. But Jeff is up to that task. Having this state business friendly, senior friendly, taxpayer friendly is not just a "nice to have" on Jeff's to do list - it is paramount. 

Had enough yet? I sure have. It is time to have a Governor for all the people, not just the fringe special interest groups like we have had with Mark Dayton. If we can get Jeff in the Governor's mansion, keep the House (we have the Senate), we will truly make Minnesota great once again!

A short guy, leading with his chin

"Sometimes blunt works. Sometimes the United States has to be the enforcer when dealing with really bad people. Sometimes for the good of humanity, little dictators like Kim need to be erased and ended. Maybe that sometime is now."  

As we all know, the United States is going through a slow motion disaster with the continuing effects from Hurricane Harvey. The amount of rain which has come down in the Houston area of the gulf coast has been almost biblical. What most civilized countries do when another country has a natural disaster, is send help, or at least some words of sympathy, support and blessing. North Korea? Na. That little runt lit off another missile which overflew Japan.

Let's suppose that we wanted to send a message to Russia. Say because we did not like what he did in Chechnya. So we launch a Trident missile from an Ohio class submarine to fly over Russia and then crash in the sea. Or the Russians want to send a message to us over their displeasure with the sanctions we have imposed on them. They launch an SS-18 ICBM to overfly the United States. In either case, it would be likely we would be in a full out exchange of weapons, both conventional and nuclear. 

How bad did this overfly of Japan rattle the Japanese government? They sent out a text message to as many as possible to immediately take cover. They thought this was it. North Korea is damn lucky Japan does not have nuclear and missile capability right now. They might have had a return visit with something very nasty.

I continue to be simply amazed that the civilized world puts up with this little creep. It is as he loves to kick sand in our face, daring us to punch him. He really is the mouse that roared. Plus, he continues to lead with his chin. And why not? In this world of "carrot and stick" diplomacy, all the Norks have ever seen from us is bushels of carrots. I am talking about since his grand daddy was in power. 

I would love to see Trump fire a salvo of four or five intermediate range missiles at North Korea. Have them fall just short of his coastline. Like real close. And then have President Trump tell "the kid" that if he overflies one of our allies again, there will be more missiles coming. We will use his country as target practice. Some might fall short, others might not. If we are going to wait until the UN does something more powerful than imposing more sanctions, hell might freeze over first.

Before the Cold War ended, we told Brezhnev (through back channels of course), that if he did not withdraw his SS-20 missiles (which were aimed at western Europe), we were going to deploy our Pershing II missiles in West Germany. If a shooting war erupted, bad things would happen quickly. The Pershing II missiles were so fast, so deadly accurate, eight minutes after a launch, we could put one through Brezhnev's bathroom window when he was sitting on the throne. Brezhnev took the bait and withdrew his SS-20 missiles.

Sometimes blunt works. Sometimes the United States has to be the enforcer when dealing with really bad people. Sometimes for the good of humanity, little dictators like Kim need to be erased and ended. Maybe that sometime is now.  

Time to call it a day...

"The best part of these fights, which really does wonders with our young folks, is when right before the fight they "face each other down". Nose to nose, spitting words at each other. Really? Sportsmanship? What about shaking hands? Wishing each other good luck. No, this is child's play. Time to put it to bed. Time to call it a day." 

Did I watch the big fight last night? Nope. I don't give a hoot and a holler about this ancient gladiator sport. What? Did that sound too squishy? Sorry - but I meant it. In these days of being concerned about head injuries in football, hockey and (believe it or not), soccer, we are selling PFV tickets at up to $100 a pop. To see what? To see one finely tuned athlete trying to knock the other finely tuned athlete into la la land.

I knew Scott LeDoux. He was a fine man, and in his day, a fierce fighter. On one long drive we had together to go to a YMCA event, Scott recounted some of the fights he had. Mostly, he talked about the George Foreman fights. Was there still bad blood? Let me just say that Scott probably never bought a George Foreman grill.

Scott said the fights were punishing. Not only did he fight Foreman, he also either fought or spared with Ali, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. What you saw is what was happened in the ring. Big, tough men trying to knock each other out. After we saw what happened to the "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" boxer, you knew the punches took a tole. Did the punishment Scott took have anything to do with him developing MS? I hope not. But now we will never know. 

Some still think this whole boxing thing is an art. Pugilism at its finest. Watching two millionaires beat the crap out of each other. In this one match last night however, a mixed martial arts champ took on a boxing champ. Mayweather won, and both contestants walked away wealthier and maybe, just maybe - more injured than before. But we will not know the results of those injuries until they are in their 50's or better. Then what good is all that money? Just ask Ali - the greatest boxer ever. 

I am thinking, this ride might be over. Time to call it a day. We don't need any more fine athletes ending up with brain injuries which will end up killing them. No, we are better than that. We are not the citizens of Rome looking for two gladiators to finish each other off in the Colosseum. 

The part of these fights which really does wonders with our young folks is this. Right before the fight, they "face each other down". Nose to nose, spitting words (and spit) at each other. Really? Sportsmanship? What about shaking hands? Wishing each other good luck. No, this is child's play. Time to put it to bed. Time to call it a day. 

"Water always wins..."

"Will we learn something once this is all said and done? Probably not enough. The government may not learn, but we can."

A few years ago, we had a new kitchen faucet installed by a professional plumber. The one we had before this job was installed by a not as professional plumber. The result?  We had been plagued with leaks in the cabinet beneath the sink for years.

When I was watching the professional plumber "sealing up" his job, I complemented him on his "belt and suspenders" approach of ensuring a leak proof job. He looked up at me and said, "You always need to be smarter than the water. Do you know why?" I confessed I did not. "Because in the end, water always wins."

I have been thinking about that as I have been watching Hurricane Harvey bring havoc to the gulf coast of Texas. Right now in particular, the very large city of Houston. This city is a mess, drowning in unrelenting rainfall. Currently, they are under a flash flood warning.

Here is the problem with Houston. A hydrologist was on the news last night explaining the makeup of the soil around the Houston area. The ground can handle about an inch or so of water without becoming over-saturated. After that - all bets are off. So far, some areas around Houston have received around 20 inches of rain. And - water always wins.

I guess if I lived in a coastal city subject to tropical storms ranging from depressions up to major hurricanes, I would have a plan. Like a "bug out" plan. After being in Hurricane Camille and a couple of typhoons, I know this much. Unlike a tornado, hurricanes and tropical storms are slow motion disasters. To make the decision to "ride it out" when you have the means to leave, is nothing more than a fools errand. Why? Water always wins. 

Department of Homeland Security has been preaching this for years. Preppers - much longer. Have an "E-Plan" for you family. Have one plan should there be an emergency and you need to "hunker down and bunker up" in your house. By the same token, have a "bug out" plan if you need to "get out of Dodge" in a big hurry. And in your "bug out" plan, keep a list of things you will absolutely need. Like meds, water, food and money. 

The folks in New Orleans had a real wake up call when Hurricane Katrina hit. Not only was there total entropy in how the federal, state and local agencies worked together, the pumping system in town, which was kept together with spit and chewing gum, failed. And that set in motion a mess which looked more like a scene out of a Hollywood produced disaster movie than a major city in the United States. 

The aftermath of this storm is going to be gruesome to watch. Yes, more people will probably die. In past big rain events, some folks crawled into their attic spaces to escape the rising waters. And that is where they drowned. In their own homes, as high up as they could go. The repair of Houston and other areas on the gulf coast will be in the tens of billions. Gasoline could spike up in price for the first time in a long time. 

Will we learn something once this is all said and done? Probably not enough. The government may not learn, but we can. We can learn two lessons. The first is at the end of the day, help might not be coming. You need to be prepared. From as many bad things that could be imagined. And the second lesson is (once again) - in the end, water always wins. 

One glass, many straws...

"Back when I was young, some families used the same bath water for everyone in the family. Baths were on Saturday night, and the lucky ones got to hop in the tub first. Will things get that bad again? I hope not. Now is a good time to get going on a problem which does not have to become one."

One of my friends who is interested in water issues in this country wanted to know if I would post any more about this very important issue. I thought about it, and it seemed like a good idea. After all, water seems to be constantly in the news. Too much, too little, where to get it, water rights, and of course after what happened in Flint - the safety of our drinking water.

One of the first posts I did when I started this blog was on water. In particular our shrinking aquifers. That post is http://veryangrybird.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-slow-passing-of-ogallala.html . I focused on the biggest aquifer we have - the Ogallala. It is not only our biggest, it is also one of the biggest in the world.

The Ogallala is dying a slow death. We are pumping out more water than it can regenerate. What happens when it goes dry in twenty years or less? We will be in a world of hurt. Many states in the Midwest rely heavily on this giant body of water. Not only to service people's needs, but also to service the vibrant agri-business presence in that part of the country. The frustrating part is that we have known for quite a while now that this aquifer, along with many others, are getting smaller. And yet we have done - nothing. 

Sure, we can make water through the desalination process. That technology has been around for decades. But it is expensive. A cheaper solution if we could figure out how to do it would be to recapture excess rainwater and then distribute it to areas of the country which need it. With now what is estimated to be a trillion gallons of rain water coming down with the Texas hurricane, a large portion of that water will just be run off. Wasted, when it could have been shipped via pipeline to areas in the country which are bone dry.

Somebody once said our aquifers are like a glass of water with many straws coming out. I like that analogy. If we don't figure out smart irrigation, water recapture, and looking at our ground water as finite, we are going to be in big trouble by 2050. Maybe sooner. 

Back when I was young, some families used the same bath water for everyone in the family. Baths were on Saturday night, and the lucky ones got to hop in the tub first. Will things get that bad again? I hope not. Now is a good time to get going on a problem which does not have to become one.

Hurricane Harvey headaches...

"So buckle in folks on the gulf coast. I hope you heeded warnings. We sure don't want another Katrina where 2,000 lost their lives. But lets start saving some water. Soon, very soon, fresh water will be like gold. Not only here, but all over the world."

I will bet that ALGORE is breathing a sigh of relief. A year after Hurricane Katrina hit, ALGORE had his doomsday book and movie come out. Remember An Inconvenient Truth? With the hurricane coming out of the smokestack? Well, that book was the kiss of death for our hurricane seasons for over a decade. Thanks Al - you did the nation a huge favor.

Truthfully, many meteorologists and scientists have been getting worried that we have been in a hurricane drought. We have not had a Cat 3 or higher landfall in over 10 years. Well, the honeymoon is now over. We have a whopper brewing up right off the coast of south Texas, and this one has got some kick to it. 

Because the steering currents are throwing us a curve ball, this hurricane is going to be an oddball - a deadly oddball. It might hang around by the coastline for a few days. And that - is not good. Hurricanes are only killed by two things - cold water or land. When a hurricane makes landfall, it usually starts the death watch. That is like I said, usually. If for some reason the hurricane makes it back to warm water, it is still "game on".

This Harvey is going to be a rain maker - maybe historic. I have addressed this issue before - many times. This country is starting to run out of fresh and potable water. That is a cold, hard fact. In fact, the world is. We can manufacture water by desalination, but that is expensive and we have done very well so far. We do not have enough fresh and potable water to satisfy thirsty states. And yet we do nothing. What more can we do?

For starters, we can re-capture and distribute excess rain water. That water is not only fresh, but also potable. How much water is going to come down with Hurricane Harvey?  According to experts, anywhere from a half to a trillion gallons of water. And most of this water will end up as runoff, going into the gulf to be mixed in with salt water.

I saw a documentary not too long ago about the Moon landing. How it really was a wing and a prayer with the technology we had back in the 1960's. But we did it. However, in the year 2017, we still have states in our western region go thirsty when in other parts of the country we have excess water going to into the rivers and streams, eventually to end up in the ocean. If we can recapture just some of that water and redistribute it, that would be a huge help to states who need it.

So buckle up folks, you living on the gulf coast. I hope you the heeded warnings. We sure don't want another Katrina, where 2,000 lost their lives. But lets start saving some water. Soon, very soon, fresh water will be like gold. Not only here, but all over the world. Don't believe me? Do some research. It is scary for sure.

  

From darkness into light

"The wonderful little girl, conceived in love, nurtured (sometimes uncomfortably) by her mother for nine months, was now a person. A little girl who will be fiercely loved by her family, and sometimes (as she grows up) only tolerated by her brother when she torments him."

I know - this sounds very biblical. And it is to a degree. It has to do with this week. The week started out with my wife and I heading south, hoping against hope we would have darkness. That is, darkness at just the right time, in just the right place. That would be the long awaited total eclipse of 2017.

Even though Monday started out stormy (wrong kind of darkness), as luck would have it, once we reached central Nebraska, the light was with us. Sunlight that is. And we needed the sunlight in order to have the darkness which was due to arrive a bit after one pm. As if it was divinely orchestrated, darkness fell over our patch of the Earth. For slightly over two full minutes, the darkness we hoped for, came.

Just as sunlight replaced the darkness once the eclipse was over, new light for our family was just over the horizon. We needed to get back home in time to see the birth of our first granddaughter. All the way home we talked about the expected birth. We reminisced about the birth of our grandson. How new light came into our lives. Into the world. Soon, there would be another ray of new light. Another blank canvas, another blank sheet of paper, just waiting for her to make her mark.

Yesterday, early in the afternoon, Cecelia Grace made her presence known. Did she come into this world all scrunched up like her brother did? I have no clue. We were at home watching her brother so her father could be at the hospital for the big event. I do know this however - when we went to the hospital to see Cecelia Grace for the first time, I was once again awestruck by the power of the Almighty. This wonderful little girl, conceived in love, nurtured (sometimes uncomfortably) by her mother for nine months, was now a person. A little girl who will be fiercely loved by her family, and sometimes (as she grows up) only tolerated by her brother when she torments him. 

Cecelia Grace comes into a world ripe with uncertainty. A world full of danger and consequences. But then again, so did her brother. And her mother and her aunt. It is up to us, the grandparents and the parents, to ensure this world is not as grim as appears. That this world is full of hope and promise. But this will only be done one way. Trust in the Lord. Trust that He made this world for us to not only survive in, but to thrive in. If we put our hope, our faith, into that promise, nothing in this world needs to be feared.

Welcome little girl. One minor word of warning. I do have a reputation of being a "play daddy" and a teaser of little girls. Just ask your mommy or your aunt. I hope I have matured just a bit from when I was a daddy. But just in case I have not, Mr. Tickle Hand is still hanging around. Love you baby - love you lots. 

Where have all the cops gone?

"So long as you continue to paint yourself a deeper blue and ignore the growing cancer of crime and drugs in your underpinnings, more people of knowledge will take a pass in living there. Minneapolis? Chicago? Two great cities, ruined by blue governance."  

Two great articles in the morning fish wrap. Actually, there were three concerning the slowing decaying city of Minneapolis. The first was about Mayor Betsy really "stepping in it" by flying out to LA to get some money from Hollywood Leftists. Trouble is, it was four days after the Damond murder. Bad girl Betsy! The next article was about community leaders AGAIN complaining to city planners about the run away violence in town. The newly minted police chief said, "We will get right on it!" Sure you will chief, sure you will.

The third article however, was the money shot. The story which told so much. Something of which I was totally ignorant. It seems that a few of the city cops do not live in the town they work for. Not too many - just over 90% live somewhere other than Minneapolis! What??? Why??? Three guesses, and the first two don't count. Nobody knows the city better than the police do. It is their business. And what they have seen, obviously has shaped their decision on where to live. And it ain't in Minneapolis.

In fact, a whole bunch of them live in the town I live in. That is good for us. Having more cops living here makes the place even safer. But back to Minneapolis. I am wondering if the clown car which calls itself the Minneapolis City Council will get the message. It seems Wonder Woman (That be what Mayor Hodges likes to be called) is having trouble with her "One Minneapolis" campaign. We don't have "One Minneapolis" Mayor - we have growing gentrification, and it is happening on your watch!

In my humble opinion, having the police move out of town to live elsewhere, is the canary in the coal mine. Some of my liberal friends have scolded me in the past for being so harsh on how this once great city has turned out. Well, tough toenails. I am doing it again. The amount of violence this city has right now is unacceptable. Unless we get "broken window" policing going again, we will slid down the hill to become a "Chicago Light".

Speaking of which, did you hear that in Chicago last weekend, over sixty people were shot? And eight of them died. This city, run by Clinton hack Rahm Emanuel, has become the nation's shooting gallery. Think of that for a minute. More people die by gun violence in Chicago than we lose in combat zones. Maybe we need to send in our special forces to restore order in that town. Rahm won't let the cops be cops, so lets send in the military.

Anyhow Minneapolis, good luck in the future. So long as you continue to paint yourself a deeper blue and ignore the growing cancer of crime and drugs in your underpinnings, more people of knowledge will take a pass in living there. Minneapolis? Chicago? Two great cities, ruined by blue governance.  

A ray of hope?

"Sir, you could play this nut ball like a grand piano. Let's help his people and forget about him. His genetics are flawed when it comes to peace. The people in that starving country however, deserve much better."

This is not an eclipse story, but the idea for it happened at the viewing. A young man with awesome camera gear and four kids was parked right next to us. He had driven up from where they lived in south Texas. He and his wife did home schooling for their kids, so there were many reasons why they came all the way up to Nebraska to see this awesome totality. One of the the reasons was to show the kids the heartland. Where much of their food comes from. When I heard that I thought - what a very smart idea!

As we were waiting for the eclipse to start, he and I and talked about numerous things - mostly politics and the geopolitical situation in the world today. We talked about the bountiful harvest in this country. I told him some statistics from previous blog posts I have done. How much we grow, how much we export, and how much we give away to struggling countries. But once he found out I was a retired crypto guy (well, he asked what I did in the Navy), he was all over this North Korea issue.

He was worried about what this nut ball in North Korea could do to our country. He of course, is worried about his kids. And why not? I love most all kids, but his kids were exeptionally cute, precocious and very, very smart. He just wanted to make sure no harm came to them because of this lose cannon a half a world away. 

I had told him earlier about the devastating drought that North Korea was having this year. He looked at me and said, "Why can't we trade some of our excess food, because the fields going on forever here (and they really do!), for him to behave himself. Maybe give up his weapons and choose peace." 

Bingo! We could eliminate North Korea in one hour with one Trident submarine. Turn it into a huge poisoned piece of glass. Or - we could transform North Korea into the community of nations. A country dedicated to human advancement rather than mutual extermination. For us - we could feed people which really need to be fed. That would be step one. A real ray of hope.

This is the irony. In this middle of a shooting range (yes, I had my .357 with me), just north of Grand Island (yes, that is where we viewed the eclipse), something other than shooting and killing was being discussed. Not to sound trite, but we talked about "beating swords into plowshares". In other words, giving people a chance at abundant life rather than a fiery death. I really did like where this conversation was going.

I will say this as one negotiator to another. President Trump - pull out your strongest suit on this deal. You have something the Norks so desperately need. The nut ball who runs the country does not care about the carrot and the stick. He wants the stick so he can go out in a blaze of whatever. The people however, deserve better. They are just like us. They want to raise a family, have food on the table, heat in the winter time.

Sir, you could play this nut ball like a grand piano. Forget about this twerp. Let's help his people and not him. His genetics are flawed anyhow. The people in that starving country however, deserve much better. We can help them. We should do it now.

A dark September coming....

"This could be a very bleak midterm election for the voters. One side can't govern, and the other side has no message. Good luck to us all. As the 1960's song goes, 'See you in September'..."

There is a dark September coming, and it has nothing to do with another eclipse. I am talking about what is turning into a very dysfunctional government. How can that be Bird? The House, the Senate and the Executive Branch all play for the same team. Really? The same team? Could have fooled me. For "brothers", our current government gets along as well as Cain and Able. And we know how that turned out!

It pains me to say this, it really does. One of the things I have learned in life is past behavior is usually a good barometer of future behavior. And I don't see any change in the behavior of our elected officials when this long, protracted vacation is over right after Labor Day. 

How much work needs to be done in less than 20 days? Not much. No worse than climbing Mount Everest three times in one day. Even if everyone on "Team Red" sang kumbaya over the break, and now love each other once again, passing this massive "trend setting" budget in the remaining days of September is nothing less than mission impossible.

Who are the players in the upcoming drama? First, "Team Red" whose members are in dire need of some professional team building. Then we have "Team Blue", who stands ready to sit - sit on their hands and do nothing to help. The CBO is also a player. They have already scored the budget blueprint sent to the Hill by the President. Dire forecast they say. Cutting the legs off of health care, and at the same time exploding the debt by another $10T over the next ten years. Can we spell DOA?

Where does that leave us? Lost in the land of many moving parts. To have a viable budget, the ObamaCare fix needed to be baked into it. Plus tax cuts agreed to. So, the first two legs of the bar stool have not yet been solved. Not even close. Once they have been solved, the third leg can be addressed - the budget itself. Like I said, this will be as easy as climbing Mount Everest three times in one day.

Those who are heavily invested in the stock market, stay brave. Turbulent times are coming. As the "plan" starts to become unraveled as we go through September, all those anticipated goodies which inflated the stock market the past few months, will turn to smoke. Trump will then have a very tough decision to make. Shut the government down until all issues resolved and we have a good budget, or (get ready....) ANOTHER CR!

This could be a very bleak midterm election for the voters. One side can't govern, and the other side has no message. Good luck to us all. As the 1960's song goes, See you in September...

The birth of a War Hawk

"We would LOVE to get out of there forever. But until we take care of business, we can't. Unless however, you want to get hit again. Trust me - the terrorists would love to do it. And now this President, understands that."

Last November, when the voting population decided to elect Donald Trump as our 45th President, many had expectations. Like what he said on the campaign trail. Then a funny thing happened to the forum. Reality set in. Trump surrounded himself with very smart, former four star generals. That is when the Wall Street idealism became tempered with the Helmand Province realism. 

One of the most honest things that Donald Trump has said since taking office, was simply this - (if I may paraphrase a bit), "You don't really understand things until you are sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office." Bravo, Mr. President! You are starting to "get it". This is a crazy mixed up world with a whole lot of moving parts. As a candidate, you understood spit. None of us would. However, with a high level clearance and top level briefings, you now realize how much you really did not know. 

Here is what I am seeing. President Trump, surrounded by his generals will not dither. We tried that for eight years - did not work well. We are now going to war once again in Afghanistan. Not like the past eight to ten years - like the first year or so. General Kelly has some skin in this game. His son was killed in Afghanistan. General Kelly would like us to rid that country of the bad guys. Or as the President said, "We are not going to nation build - we are going to kill terrorists."

For the first time in forever, President Trump is giving our war fighters the "game on" signal. We will attack. We will find you. And we will kill you. My feelings on this? I think this will be Bora Bora all over again. Yes, maybe some more MOAB shock and awe. I do believe that neither Mattis nor Trump want one scratch of wounding on any of our troops. But they do want the enemy to get punched so hard they will come to the negotiation table. We do however - need to punch them to get them there.

Listen up doves. Listen up Anitfa. This is reality. We initially went into Afghanistan only because the terrorists trained there for the 9/11 attack. We would LOVE to get out of there forever. But until we take care of business, we can't. Unless however, you want to get hit again. Trust me - the terrorists would love to do it. And now this President, understands that.

Our rendezvous with a "Happening"

"It is one thing to see a picture on the Science Channel, and quite something else to see the event in person. I have no words. It is something that if you can experience - it defies description."   

A few months ago, my wife and I were sitting in our sun room, having some fun discussions. Discussions like vacations plans for this year. The first thing out of my mouth was to go see the total eclipse in August. She looked at me like I had just taken a magic mushroom or two. "What eclipse? The one south of us?" she asked. I said yes. The totality zone is not that far south from us (I lied), and we could invite your cousin from Kansas to join us.

So it was hatched. The plan. Reservations were made. A "blip trip" was made to down to Nebraska to be in the 70 mile wide cone of "totality". This has not happened for 99 years. However, my wife then had to remind this very "hard headed" Bird one important fact  - "By the way Bird- your first granddaughter is also being born that week. And we have to take care of our grandson while all this happens!" Whoops!

Then I another thought. "The Great Minnesota Get Together"! That will be also be starting this week. If I missed the fair this year, I don't know if Dave or Rob would ever talk to me again!

A few days before we left for our eclipse trip, my wife had a serious discussion with me. "Tell me again, why we are going all the way through Iowa (which she hates) and then through the cornfields of Nebraska, just to see this eclipse? Remember, this is the week our first granddaughter is being born." 
   
Then it dawned on me - what the right answer was. I told her this was a "Happening". An old term from the 70's. Why a "Happening"? Because people from all over the country were going to converge in this very narrow 70 mile swath of land where for a whopping 2 minutes (and some seconds), will see day will become night - in the middle of the day.

My wife had reserved a "parking spot" at a hunting club a bit west of Grand Island, Nebraska. We left on on Sunday, traveled south, and spent the night just outside of Omaha (rooms were very hard to come by). The next morning (today), we got up in in the middle of heck of a thunderstorm. And the Marriott we are staying at is full of eclipse viewers. Everyone wanted to get out and on I-80 to start their journey out west. The problem was the thunderstorm. It was vicious, and everyone was trying to load up at the worst possible time.

Even though the traffic predictions for the event were horrible, and it was raining cats and dogs, we left anyhow. This after all, was a "Happening". We headed west through Omaha, then through Lincoln, and finally into Grand Island. The further we got west, the traffic mellowed at bit, and the sun came out. This is a good sign!  

Many viewing places is Grand Island had historic lines of cars waiting to get in. I told my wife I hoped the shooting range just outside of town (where were reservations made) was a whole lot better. Thankfully, it was. It was a gorgeous facility, friendly folks running it, and plenty of space. Score one for my wife in doing her research! 

We got set up, met some very nice folks from all over the country, and got ready to see some of God's finest handy work. The sky was still mostly clear, and the sun was now in almost full view. We were ready!

Let me say this about the "Happening" - better known as the total eclipse. If it is not on your bucket list to see one, put it on. We will have one more in 2024 which will hit a bit further south. Why is it important to see one? In the middle of a day, the day will turn into dusk (no - not dark - dusk), the temperature will drop, and the birds will silence. Trust me on this one, it is beyond eerie. Something man cannot duplicate.

More to report later on the fascinating stories we heard from people we met. Was it a long drive? Yes. Was the weather sketchy? Oh, yes - at first. Was the big event worth the drive, the expense, the waiting, when it happened? One hundred times, yes.

It is one thing to see a picture or a video on the Science Channel, and quite something else to see the event in person. I have no words. It is something that if you can experience - do it. It defies description which can be put into words.   

The great American experience...

"But if you can make it down to the somewhat strange swath this eclipse is going to take, do it. The next one will never happen again in your lifetime - that is if you die in the next 8 years. After that, there will be another one, this time a bit further south in the states."

Okay. Enough of the Alt-Right, Alt-Left, you wombats or whomever else. I am going to write about something that will bring us all together as a nation in less than 48 hours. What is it Bird? The Norks? A UFO invasion? What could it be? The sky. It will be the sky. Whenever we get all puffed up about how important we are, the Lord lets the sky remind us we are here, living on this wonderful rock He was created for us.

At around 1 pm (CDT) this coming Monday, we are going to see a nationwide celestial show. And this is rare. How rare? For many, it is a once in a lifetime event. This coming Monday, our Moon will blot the part or most of the sun for a couple hours. For some however, in this country, the Moon will be totally block out the sun for a bit over 2 minutes. 

Two minutes? Who cares about that? That is such a short period of time. Why is that such a big deal? Because for the first time in 99 years, the entire country is going to see it. From Oregon all the way to South Carolina. And the swath of totality will only by 70 to 90 miles wide. Day will turn to night, the nighttime birds will sing their goodnight songs, and stars will start to appear.  In that "very narrow" swath of totality, somewhere close to a zillion people will be there to witness this awesome sight.

However, that is the area of the country which will see the totality. Even where I live, the eclipse will be over 80%. That is huge! When I was stationed in northern Maine for the 1992 Nova Scotia eclipse, we only saw a partial. Even with a partial eclipse on a semi-cloudy day, the effect was mind bending.

I was doing some research on the internet about the expected crowds for this event. One state to the south of us, said the traffic would be no worse than having 20 Woodstock events state wide, staring at the same time. In other words, mid-state interstates which have never seen a traffic jam, are about to witness the horrors of Twin Cities rush hour traffic.

If you can make it down to the somewhat strange swath this eclipse is going to make, do it. The next one will never happen again in your lifetime - that is if you die in the next 8 years. After that, there will be another one, this time a bit further south in the states - this time going from SW to NE.

Bye, bye, Benghazi...

"However, if Heather had been pro-life and run over while protesting an abortion clinic, I doubt if her death would have even warranted a footnote to history."

A hundred years or so ago (it seems like that long ago), we had a national tragedy. For the first time in just about forever, we lost an American Ambassador. Killed in action. Along with three other American heroes. The national outrage was - well, spotty at best. After all, the MSM and the elites did not want to get any smudge on the sitting President (who was historic after all), or our Secretary of State (who wanted to become historic). So with the help of the MSM, we did something we have become very good at. We showed our selective outrage by showing no outrage.

HOWEVER - for Heather Heyer's death, the MSM is totally outraged! Unlike Ambassador Sevens and the other three American heroes who died in the line of duty, Heather died while protesting. Do I think it was horrible that she was run over by a nut ball? Absolutely. Should she be lionize? According to the Left she should be. In fact, the Left is calling for a nationwide, "Stand for Heather" event at 10 pm this Sunday night. Everyone is to stand outside and hold a lit candle for Heather. Whereas the Benghazi victims were just in the wrong place and the wrong time. I guess it just sucked being them.

In any event, someone will probably want to erect a statue for Heather where once a historical statue stood. By the way, did you know that one of the fourteen people killed by ISIS in Barcelona this week was from California? He was innocent and minding his own business. And then run over by a murderer in a premeditated fashion. Outrage? By anyone? Where is the MSM on this one? Still focusing on Heather, that is where they are at.

Back to the past Administration. Benghazi is slowly entering the trash heap of history, just like Fast and Furious did. Did I mention that Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty due by one of the illegal Fast and Furious guns? Where was the outrage for Brian Terry? Why was there no outrage? No candle light vigil at 10 pm on a Sunday night?  Once again, the MSM and the elites did not want to get a smudge on the sitting President (who was historic after all), or our Attorney General (who was also historic).

Are the four heroes from Benghazi every going to receive justice? Not likely. Will the sitting Secretary of State at that time ever be brought up on charges, like dereliction of duty? Dream on. Anyone who saw the movie 13 Hours knows what a cluster Benghazi was. Many should have hung. And the President (the buck stops there) should have been impeached. 

There are a raft of sins which will never need to be accounted for from the past Administration. Heather however, because she was a Bernie supporter and protesting for the Left, will leave her mark on history. If Heather had been a conservative, pro-life and run over while protesting an abortion clinic, I doubt if her death would have even warranted a footnote to history. That is my story and I am sticking with it.

Tipping their hand...

"Yes, I am talking about softening the Fourth Amendment. I hate to say that, I really do. But to find the hidden terrorists, we might have to."

Another terror attack yesterday. I could just about cut and paste my last article which addressed Euro terror attacks, but I will not. Why? I have a different angle on this one. I would like to say it is due to my unique thinking, but that would be a lie. I am going to hitchhike on something a terror expert said this morning on one of the news shows.

First - the attack. Once again, the good guys got lucky. Why? The Islamic Terrorists we were dealing with yesterday were not the cream of the crop. First off, there was a house explosion earlier in the week in Spain. The authorities first thought it was a natural gas explosion. It turns out it was a bomb making facility getting ready for yesterday's attacks. The bomb maker was not quite ready for prime time, and blew himself up along with the house.

In spite of the house mishap, the attacks proceeded in Barcelona and a smaller town about 100 miles to the south of Barcelona. Once again, weapon used were vehicles. By a miracle, only 15 died. This could have been much, much worse. There were also four college basketball teams from the states staying close to the street in Barcelona where the attack took place. Fortunately, all involved with those teams are safe and accounted for.

Back to the terror expert this morning. The Islamic State has become very brazen before any attack these days. They tell us what they are going to do. As much as they would like to go after an airliner again, the myriad of soft targets are just too tempting for them. Plus, they can get a "weapon of mass destruction" very cheap and very easy. Just rent a truck. On their web site, the instructions how to do this is very clear. What kind of knives or guns to use when you exit the vehicle. How to kill. 

Is this going to stop? Probably not - in fact, it is going to get worse. Very tempting targets for the Islamic State are the high speed trains on our East Coast. How do I know that? That too, is on their web site. Even more carnage derailing one of those things than running over people in a crowd with a truck. Can we protect every mile of track 24 hours a day? Of course not. Then what are we going to do to protect our innocent people riding trains? That is the $64,000 question.

Another terror expert from the UK had a much more blunt warning for us all. Terrorists of opportunity will continue to kill so long as we allow them easy access to our sovereign nations by giving them access through open borders. Also, by not playing "who is who" for those who are inside the borders. We need to find these sleeper cells, and root them out. With whatever means necessary. Our PC has only resulted in DOA for many innocent people.

Both the President and the Vice President have vowed to put an end to ISIS. To end this needless terror. Easy words to say. Much harder to do. I have said this since 9/11. The only way to make this country as safe as possible is to surrender some of our freedoms. Yes, I am talking about softening our Fourth Amendment rights. I hate to say that, I really do. But to find the hidden terrorists, we might have to.

  

The mystery of the X-37B

"So heads up Earthlings! The future is now. Pay attention. Exciting times are ahead. If we can keep from blowing ourselves up, the ride tomorrow will be a heck of a lot different (and better) than the ride yesterday."  

Oh my - Americans do enjoy a mystery. And especially one which can be woven into a conspiracy theory. One of the best ones I have seen as late, revolves around the X-37B unmanned space plane. The one which is launched, stays in orbit just short of forever, and then comes back to Earth. Once back, it keeps its mouth shut about what it was doing up there. And now, it is going up again in September for...???

Poking around on the internet to find some theories on this plane, I found quite a bit which were just short of fighting aliens. Some of them actually made some sense. One of them was to jam pack this space plane with the most state of the art listening and viewing technology to date. It would be better than any of our Keyhole satellites. Plus, it is very maneuverable. Whereas even our best satellites in a geosynchronous orbit have some limitations. This plane has fewer of them. It has the mobility to "get in very snugly", without being noticed or held to a satellite schedule.

There were some others theories, but they were way "out there" (no pun intended). However, the one which I think is the most plausible, is the hunter/killer plan. It is true we have had ASAT (anti-satellite technology) for years in some of our rockets. But this type of hunter/killer technology based on a space plane would be far more lethal. No running and no hiding from this guy. Can you imagine taking our the comm sats and/or the GPS sats of an adversary during a conflict? Quite an advantage, I would say.

I will mention this however. Get used to it. Space is about to change for us. For everyone. How so? Many, many more unmanned missions are planned. You think driver-less cars are going to be a splash? Wait until you see the progression of pilot-less space craft (hello, Elan Musk!). 

Where are the jobs of the future going to be? Pay attention to the details, and you will see them all around us. Not to change the subject, but just today I saw on the internet a pocket sized projector you could use with your cell phone, tablet, PC, or whatever. It will play your favorite movie or streaming show, and project it in HD on any surface which can pass for a screen. And you can also blue tooth your sound for movie theater type effects. That is just the start of the next revolution in media and entertainment. Hang on.

One final thing on the next mission of the X-37B. It is rumored it will be testing out a new ion-drive engine. If that is successful, and if we can perfect the ion-drive, it will not take us anywhere close to light speed, but it will get us places a heck of lot faster with less fuel than we do now. Get ready Mars!

So heads up Earthlings. The future is now. Pay attention. Exciting times are ahead. If we can keep from blowing ourselves up, the ride tomorrow will be a heck of a lot different (and better) than the ride yesterday.