Has China beat us to 6g?

"Back to 6g for a second. Elon Musk thinks his Starlink product might be the closest to getting 6g. If that is true, it will be Elon, once again, to save us. If Elon is just blowing smoke and he is no closer to 6g than 2030, then we might have to give a tip of the hat to China. Will China be a fair trader with us on their 6g products? Are they fair traders on anything? Case closed."

Let me start this by saying there is absolutely nothing wrong with all the super technology which is packed into your current cellphone. By now, most of us (unless we still love the flip phones), have 5g technology in our phones. That was a huge jump for the industry, as it really cut the latency time down for downloading and such. But is good enough ever good enough in the world of technology? Nope. Right now, our smart folks in phone labs are working on the anticipated 6g phone. Why? The latency time will be a hundred times faster than the 5g. What does that mean? You could download 5 movies in less than one second.

Okay - forget the movie example for a minute. There are hundreds of other applications which would be good, very good, to have faster latency. Some of which are medical, and some involve national security. But not to worry - we are way ahead of the rest of the world in this critical development. Or are we? It seems that last week, China announced they have cracked the code (so to speak) and come out with a 6g prototype. If this is true, and not just Chinese smoke and mirrors, that would put them over three years ahead of us. Currently, we are racing to have 6g on the market by 2030. 

Not to be the bearer of not so good news, but there is more. China, who is our main competitor in the world of AI, seems to have fast tracked their AI development a bit faster than us. The lead (all be it small) we have had over the Chinese seems to have evaporated. Now it is an old-fashioned foot race. But all things being equal, here is the real bothersome part to me. Current intel shows the "go to market" pricing that China will have on AI technology will be 40% less than ours. If their product is as good as ours, yet 40% cheaper - that will be a killer on global sales.

Meanwhile, what is going on in the world of our AI. Kathy Hochel (governor of NY) has just put a one-year moratorium on the building of any new AI data centers. In this footrace where every week counts, to have a major state like New York put a hold on any new data centers will not help us - not one bit. And locally here, Elk River just voted down permitting on a new data center. Why? NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard). And the NIMBY bug could be spreading across the nation.

Back to 6g for a second. Elon Musk thinks his Starlink product might be the closest to getting 6g. If that is true, it will be Elon, once again, to save us. If Elon is just blowing smoke and he is no closer to 6g than 2030, then we might have to give a tip of the hat to China. Will China be a fair trader with us on their 6g products? Are they fair traders on anything? Case closed.  

Sliding into another "forever war"?

"Wars and rumors of wars. Sounds familiar? Wonder why our DOW (formerly DOD) ask if for $1.5 T this next fiscal year? War cost money and it costs lives. Many times, the juice in not worth the squeeze. Really? Just ask Putin how his day is going."  

If you stop and take a deep breath, you can almost smell Iraq instead of Iran. Iraq, the "shock and awe" war that G.W. Bush led us into to make quick work of getting rid of Saddam and restoring Iraq to democracy - became a quagmire. The "shock and awe" portion of the war was not too bad, but the years of insurgency following, on was very painful for the USA. And just like that, as we start out the new millennium, we were knee deep in messy "boots on the ground" wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Once we finally extracted ourselves from both wars, the clamor went up from the masses saying - NEVER AGAIN! 

I am reminded of that old saying - wars are easy to start and very hard to finish. Don't think so? Try asking Vladimir Putin on how his four-day military action in Ukraine is going. The four-days have somehow turned into years, with Russia losing 1.5 million men. Right now, Russia is stuck in another "forever war" in which they could never have foreseen. But there they are - spending national blood and treasure for what? To eventually lose?

But were are too smart to fall into that kind of a trap. We were going to teach the IRGC as hard and fast lesson. One and done, in there and out of there. A clean, easy-peasy type of war. So, we thought. But for some reason, Iran had another idea. And now, with a good part of our fleet sitting off the coast of Iran, the "in and out" war is turning into a "forever war". And as much as we all hate to hear these words, to really cut out the cancer in Iran, to get rid of the IRGC and let peace return to the shire - it will take some boots on the ground. And with boots on the ground will come more misery and death for America.

It would have helped if we could have built a "coalition of the willing" like Bush 41 did before the first Gulf War. With that kind of help, the "shock and awe" war made mincemeat of the Saddam predicted "Mother of all wars". It was over in just a few days, with victory for the good guys being almost sanitary. But that was then, and this is now. Those easy days are over. To truly vanquish this foe in Iran, we really need to put the pedal to the metal. Total commitment. Air, sea and land. But if we do that, there will be a cost to pay. Blood and treasure. Right now, I am getting that spider tingling that we might be stuck. Either cut and run, fight to the death, or fight another "forever war" of attrition. 

Do I blame Donald Trump for getting us into this mess? Not really - a nuclear Iran would be unacceptable to Israel, the United States, the Arab neighborhood, and even Europe. Also, a regime who guns down tens of thousands of its own citizens has no right to exist. If we had a viable United Nations, maybe they could have done something about that issue. No - Iran needs to change, needs to de-nuke, and once again the toilet cleaning job falls on the US military (with a strong assist from the IDF).

Wars and rumors of wars. Sounds familiar? Wonder why our DOW (formerly DOD) ask if for $1.5 T this next fiscal year? War cost money and it costs lives. Many times, the juice in not worth the squeeze. Really? Just ask Putin how his day is going.  

And then there is, once again - crazy

 

"We need more NORMAL people to run for office. I know they are out there - they just need to make themselves known. I like people who love this country and are as American as apple pie. Does that make me a 'Nationalist'? Maybe - but in my book, that makes me an American before anything else."   

Ladies and gentlemen - meet Ashley Webb. He/she/it/they are (is) running to be a UNITED STATES SENATOR from the state of Maine. Let that marinate for just a minute. The great state of Maine, a state I called home for almost two years of my life, has finally rejected having a man with a Nazi tattoo on his chest, and is now auditioning for a more normal replacement for him. Normal? Have you seen or listened to Miss/Mr. Webb? What in the world has happened to Maine? I know it is not the water, as I drank plenty of it while living there.

All of a sudden, nationwide, the jar of fruits and nuts seems to have been shaken, stirred and then poured out. From seeing the collage of oddities who were running for governor of California as well as the mayor of LA, to the oddballs running for senate in Michigan, all I can say is WOW! It is like normal has taken a coffee break, and average looks a bit too radical these days. The name of the game is the stranger the better. And - as a plus up - hating America as it stands is a huge new value for the crazies. 

Just thirty years ago, if some of these "candidates" made it onto the public stage, the American public would have thought it was a skit from Saturday Night Live, or some other comedy show. But today, we are expected to look at this loony bin and accept them as serious. In what world could that happen? Not the world I live in. We have enough oddballs in Congress right now, without adding to the mixture. Like whom, you might ask? Rose DeLauro. Enough said.

America - what in the world is happening here? I know we are a diverse country, but now we have gone way, way over the edge by running Commies for office, as well as fruits and nuts who have fallen off the turnip truck. I fear to see what comes out of the next election. I fear even more what will come out of the Presidential election in 2028. With the trajectory of the new left, I could see Hunter Biden making a run for the White House, with AOC as his running mate. 

We need more NORMAL people to run for office. I know they are out there - they just need to make themselves known. I like people who love this country and are as American as apple pie. Does that make me a "nationalist"? Maybe - but in my book, that makes me an American before anything else.   

He is back, and the useful idiots are very happy

 

"Pay attention folks. This threat is for real. They are coming for what you have. For what you have worked for. Is that fair? Depends on whose definition of fair you use. Our definition is much different than their definition."  

The Democrat Socialists of America. Or, as POTUS puts it - Communists. Where did all of this come from? I thought Socialism (or Communism) was a failed economic (and tyrannical and authoritarian system) whose time had come and gone. But all of a sudden, in the United States of America, the land which fought the spread of Communism in the Korean Conflict, fought the spread of Communism in the Viet Nam Conflict, is now having Socialism spreading like wildfire on our home turf.

Not only are they here in the form of the Democrat Socialists of America, but they have also reached into their loony bin for an agenda to run on. It is not bad, if you don't mind the unraveling of everything American. And who is standing in the gap to protect our mushy head liberals from falling for this BS? Traditional Democrats. At something slightly slower than the speed of light, traditional Democrats are watching their once storied party go the way of the Dodo Bird.

I have my own theory on how this nonsense got started. This is just my opinion based not on fact, just on a hunch. The publishing of CEO salaries. Every year the local paper would publish CEO salaries for local businesses. Some were quite amazing. In one year, a CEO could make more money than an entire family could make in a lifetime. That allowed that one troublesome word to enter the lexicon - fair. Is it fair that one person could make so much, while so many could have so little? Never mind most CEOs had to work and sacrifice their tails off to get to that perch. But once fairness became a talking point, the foothold then became a stronghold.

Those of us (still the majority) who think our way of life is the best of the best, now have to address all the nutty things these wannabes working class heroes are spouting off. As a retired guys and a retired veteran, the chore of schooling these folks who should have learned this lesson years ago, is a curious task. Like - were you drifting off during Civics classes? Did you bother to study World History? Are you really that stupid, or just that naive?

Well, buckle up Earthlings, as this fight is just beginning. It is hard to believe when the good guys have history and logic on their side, this might still end up being a fight to the finish. The finish? Yes, if the Democrat Socialists win, and the good guys need to change or leave. But if we leave, where will we go? America is the last and best bastion of freedom and liberty. To lose all of that in exchange for the chains of Socialism or Communism, is like jumping off the cliff into an abyss.

Pay attention folks. This threat is for real. They are coming for what you have. For what you have worked for. Is that fair? Depends on whose definition of fair you use. Our definition is much different than their definition.  

 

World champs! At last!

"Today is a better day for air quality. That is a good thing. Still hotter than heck today, with high humidity. But next week - back to July normal. Was this week our new normal in Minnesota? I sure hope not."

It sure took a while, but we can finally lay claim to being number one in the world. Wait - what? I thought our soccer team was eliminated. It was - I am not talking about soccer. I am talking about something which we should want no part of. But we have it. This week, we hit the milestone. Worst air in the nation. My mistake, not the nation - the world. Whereas an AQI (Air Quality Index) of in the 300's puts you in the awful category, we managed to hit in the 500's for a short period of time. In fact, West Duluth hit an unofficial 600. That is air so thick you could have it for lunch.

I did not really know how to address this issue, but a longtime social media friend of mine (who recently moved out of this hellscape of a state) summed it up nicely. Because he is about my age, what he said really made sense. He was wondering why this spate of bad air has become common and terrible. Whereas when we were growing up in this state, bad air was either non-existent or best case - rare.

Something is making these fires grow more common. Please - please - don't constipate my feed with global warming bs. It was hot and humid when I was growing up just like it is now. And this year, we have had plenty of rain, thank you. No - it is something else. Something different that Canada is doing as well as the greenies in Minnesota. And right now, the main culprit seems to be forest management (or lack thereof).

Back to the world's worst air this week. We are a First World country. Every year, the number of pollutants we put into the atmosphere goes down. Why? Our knowledge on how to have cleaner effluents goes up. This week we had dirtier air than China. Then India. Then any of the Third World countries you could think of. Us - the number one innovator in the world, has the worst air. It was shameful and regrettable.

Two more things on this most sad and embarrassing issue. First, there is some thought that we might have eclipsed and AQI of 1,000 some places in the Arrowhead. To say that boggles my mind would be an understatement. Second, some liberal greenie posted on Facebook this morning that these smoke events were the fault of Donald Trump and Pete Stauber. Here is the problem with that false claim. These smoke events started a couple decades ago. Long before Trump's first term. And long before the seven years that Pete Stauber has been in Congress.

Today is a better day for air quality. That is a good thing. Still hotter than heck today, with high humidity. But next week - back to July normal. Was this week our new normal in Minnesota? I sure hope not.  

The mess in the BWCA (and Canada)

"Pretty soon the climate alarmists will be out blaming the Ford 150 pickup trucks for these fires. It is not the trucks - it is the way we manage our forests. Well, it is too late now for a big chunk of the BWCA. Nature has just managed it for us. And left a trail of smoke, soot, and damage in the aftermath."  

Welcome to the hellscape frequently referred to as Minnesota. And how did we get this way? Mining in the BWCA? Motorboats in the BWCA? The answer is no and no. And yet, walking outside this morning, the air is so thick with smoke that you can almost taste it. The air (if you want to call it as such), is not fit for man nor beast. And what happened? Sabotage by evil people? Careless campers? What? Probably dry lightning - and a mismanaged forest.

I love the purists in the area who defend the no-logging laws we have in the BWCA. The same goes for parts of Canada. "We don't need to manage our forests. Nature will take care of that." And nature does take care of it. By letting it burn. And with the conditions on the ground in the BWCA, this mismanaged forest floor is ripe with fuel for a rip-roaring forest fire. And that is what we have this morning.

60,000 acres of pristine forest have now been burned in the BWCA and the Superior National Forest. That is nature doing her recycling and restoration. The smaller fires in the BWCA have merged into a much bigger fire. How bad is it? One of the fire chiefs said the fire has "gotten into the ground" and we will still have remnants of this fire until the snow falls. BTW - the fire chief also said this 60,000-acre fire is still burning like crazy. And the main fire is still 0% contained at the time of this article.

Is there a lesson to be learned from this mess? Like maybe don't locate YMCA camps in this potential fire zones? Don't allow camping in an area so remote that should it catch fire, getting to safety could be a real problem? How about - just allow reasonable and sensible logging in the BWCA and Superior National Forrest. Or is it better just to lose some of that valuable timber to the vicissitudes of nature. If my vote counted (which it does not), I would choose better forest management practices.

But as we know, there is another side to this issue here. The smoke and ash. According to one of the local weather geeks, last night in Blaine, a new AQI record was set. Unbelievable 535! What can you safely do with an air quality like that? Nothing - no matter how healthy you are. The health experts are telling us to stay inside and do nothing. Thus, all week, with the heat and smoke, we lose a week of summer. Gone. And it is not just here - the smoke goes all the way to New England.

Pretty soon the climate alarmists will be out blaming the Ford 150 pickup trucks for these fires. It is not the trucks - it is the way we manage our forests. Well, it is too late now for a big chunk of the BWCA. Nature has just managed it for us. And left a trail of smoke, soot, and damage in the aftermath.  

Whither - Social Security?

"Many have wondered - how do we fix it? Just when all avenues to fix this gaping hole in Social Security looked way too convoluted, an answer drops right in our laps. Thanks in large part to Taxing Timmy Walz, we found out about fraud."

Ever since I was much younger and in the work a day world, some panic merchant in Washington would be ringing the alarm about Social Security. That is, one group of panic merchants would be running around the Capitol with their hair on fire, and another group would be trying to mollify the masses by lying to them about the solvency of Social Security. Meanwhile, I as well as millions of other workers, went to work, day by day, and had a percentage of our wages withheld and stuffed into this mysterious hole called FICA. 

Some have called Social Security a Ponzi Scheme. Others have called it a lifeline for seniors who have little else to retire on. Now a new group of either truth tellers or panic merchants are sounding the alarm bell (again). If we don't fix Social Security quickly, seniors will have their benefits cut by 20 or 30 percent in 2032. For some seniors, that will be a major inconvenience. For other seniors - it will be a killer.

Mostly due to my age, I have met many seniors over the past few years. Sometimes the issue of retirement money comes up. I have talked to many who are doing just fine, thank you. But I have also talked to others, that based on what they did for a living, Social Security is most of what they get every month. To eliminate it, or even reduce it, would be dangerous and maybe even deadly. 

Here is the long and the short of it (as far as I am concerned). I am tired of every few years hearing about the demise of Social Security. If it is truly broken and running out of money so fast that beneficiaries will soon take a decrement in monthly checks - FIX IT! If it is not running out of money (remember the SS "Strong Box?") then shut up already! Nobody, not even seniors who no longer work, need additional stress by worrying about future benefits.

Many have wondered - how do we fix it? Just when all avenues to fix this "gaping hole" in Social Security looked way too convoluted, an answer drops right in our laps. Thanks in large part to Taxing Timmy Walz, we found out about fraud. With all the fraud we have in Minnesota and beyond, we can reclaim (or claw back) so much money, we can fix that gaping hole. Heck - we might even have enough to give seniors a decent raise in benefits.  

Is this whole UFO for real? Or what?

"Okay - I know this all the mumbo jumbo that we have all been hearing for a long, long time. We need answers. The fact that we have somethings zipping around (over) our sovereign territory, that even our F-22 jets can't even keep up with, is disconcerting. And why are they drawn to our nuclear plants or military bases? Does that mean they are really Russian or Chinese? And all those drones last winter, over many of our skies. What was that all about?"

Did you hear? Another tranche of UFO files has recently been released. Did I see some of them? I did, as did many others. Okay - I will say it. So far, these have been a big fat nothing burger. The UFOs doing the ariel dance over our Capitol in 1952 were more stunning than what has been released. Here is what I thought this entire disclosure thing was going to be about. Proof of an alien. Not some dead thing which could have been put together by a special effects artist. A live alien, landing on the White House lawn, and saying something like - "We are here." So far - no luck.

Wait - what? What about all those decades of people (some very reputable) seeing "somethings" in our skies? What about all these "things" that our astronauts have seen from space capsules or while serving on the ISS? What did Hamlet tell Horatio? "There are more things in heaven and earth". And ergo, Shakespeare might have hit upon the answer to some or all of these "things" we have all been seeing. Maybe they are fallen angels or demons. Or maybe they are us, time traveling back from the future. Or if you really want to go out on a limb - interdimensional beings.

Okay - I know this all the mumbo jumbo that we have all been hearing for a long, long time. We need answers. The fact that we have somethings zipping around (over) our sovereign territory, that even our F-22 jets can't even keep up with, is disconcerting. And why are they drawn to our nuclear plants or military bases? Does that mean they are really Russian or Chinese? And all those drones last winter, over many of our skies. What was that all about?

Some think that maybe the answer lies in our oceans. That hidden within the 70% water we have on this planet, is another species. "Something" is down there and has been tracked at speeds approaching 200mph. Again, it is not us, as our best subs can only go a fraction of that speed.

My final thought on this matter is simply this (and this is for our government) - put up or shut up. If you don't know anything, just tell us so. However, if you do have immutable proof of aliens - show us. We CAN handle the truth. Until that happens, as the old expression goes, "I am not going to pay it no never mind!" 

Time to take this southwest water thing serious

"Our national theme of water, water, everywhere, is running out of steam. People in my neck of the woods can watch this unfold with a dispassionate interest. But for those living in Phoenix or Las Vegas, this crisis is about as real and real can get."

By now some have heard or read about the Hail Mary some scientists want to do with the Colorado River. Drain Lake Powell to save Lake Meade. Say what? As a lad, my dad took the family out west to visit some of the wonderful sites the west had to offer. One place that my dad was keenly interested in was the Glen Canyon Dam. Why? There were using some the equipment which was made at the plant my dad worked at. The Glen Canyon Dam was the start of Lake Powell. Back then, both Lake Powell and Lake Meade made sense for a fast-growing part of the great desert southwest.

Now, the Colorado River is starting to give up its flow. Too many sub-normal years of snowfall in the Rockies. The problem is, the Colorado is a one trick pony for supplying the desert southwest with much needed water. Then the ugly question begs to be asked - what if the Colorado River is no more? What does Pheonix do? Las Vegas? Tucson? Dozens of other communities? We need to come up with a Plan "B", and quickly. If Mother Nature gives up on giving us the necessary hydration, then what or who will?

All we need to do is look to the Middle East. An area of the world where water is not a luxury - water is life. With some countries in the Middle East being mostly desert, relying on rainfall is a non-starter. So, they looked towards the sea, and desalination of that endless supply of water. So far, so good. And now we really need to do the same. The only question is simply this - are we too late? 

Here is the long and the short of it. Years past, when dryness was the name of the game in a growing season, we could take the easy way out. Irrigation. That worked fine until we had too many straws going down into our huge aquifers. Even our largest aquifer (the Ogallala), which sits over parts of our nation's "breadbasket", has its limits. If we are not careful, soon that great aquifer will suffer the same fate as Lake Meade or Lake Powell.

To save our desert southwest, to keep it from reverting back to just a dry, dusty (unlivable) desert, we need a Manhattan type of engineering effort to bring in water - lots and lots of water - and quickly. This effort would be expensive and huge. Hint: other parts of the country will not be keen on the desert southwest taking their water. No - this new water needs to come from the ocean. And the permitting for desalination plant(s) need to be fast tracked through Congress and the Administration.

Our national theme of water, water, everywhere, is running out of steam. People in my neck of the woods can watch this unfold with a dispassionate interest. But for those living in Phoenix or Las Vegas, this crisis is about as real and real can get.   

Riddle me this...

 

"One more thing. Nigeria. The killing of Christians. By Muslims. Do you know that in the past six years, 30,000 Christians have been killed by Muslims in Nigeria alone? Churches burned, and men, women and children killed. I know Trump is really ticked off about this. How about showing the murdering Muslims in Nigeria how effectively our Delta Force or Seal Team Six operates? Riddle me this - why do we put up with this carnage?"

Did you see the blatant travesty which happened at some Somali week celebrations in MN? It was bad enough that these immigrants were flying their version of the new Minnesota flag, but to fly our national flag, the flag so many had fought for and died for - upside down? Riddle me this - why in the world do we put up with this ingratitude? They come here, many on some kind of government assistance, and then thank us by flying our flag upside down? If this is really the way they feel, it is time to leave. Like, now.

Now that I am on this rant, riddle me this one also. Why in the world are we still messing around with Iran? Over the last 47 years, they have chanted "Death to America" about 8 billion times. How do you negotiate with somebody who wants you and your family dead? And now, Israel has uncovered a real time plot to kill our President. Why do we put up with these people? Time to show them what real shock and awe is like.

Okay - put all the chanting aside. Sticks and stones. What about all the Marines who were killed in the barracks bombing as well as the Khobar Towers bombing years ago? We know that was Iran being the puppet master. And even more modern day - what about the 30 or so Americans who were killed or captured during the terror attack on Israel? How about some payback? Every one of these IRGC thugs in Iran have blood on their hands. Directly, of through their proxies.

One more thing. Nigeria. The killing of Christians. By Muslims. Do you know that in the past six years, 30,000 Christians have been killed by Muslims in Nigeria alone? Churches burned, and men, women and children killed. I know Trump is really ticked off about this. How about showing the murdering Muslims in Nigeria how effectively our Delta Force or Seal Team Six operates? Riddle me this - why do we put up with this carnage? 

There is an old saying in the Navy. Time to kick ass and take names. Maybe we as a nation need to do that also. I am tired of seeing all of this injustice. Time to square this circle. 

 

The Minnesota Primary - any surprises expected?

"Meanwhile, more of the normals will leave this state for the freer confines of Texas, Florida, Tennessee and beyond. Wait - are you telling us that our votes will not count this year? They will - sort of. All part of living in this gulag."   

One month and one day away. The Minnesota Primary. Will there be hard feelings once it is over? Count on it. Why? This might be the final breathing of an endorsement system whose time has come and gone. Now please don't get me wrong - I would be happy with any of the fine folks who were endorsed by MNGOP. But - can any of them win in a general election? In this state? Where blue has been the fashionable color for decades now?

I recently have read some Las Vegas type betting polls. They were endorsed candidate vs. endorsed candidate. In other words, Peggy Flanigan for Senate and Famous Amy for Governor. Kendall did horrible against Amy. Adam did horrible against Peggy. Now factor in the polling which has been done in the state. It is a real horse race between Flanigan and Craig for the DFL nod for the open senate seat. And on the republican side, Adam is way, way behind Michelle Tafoya. And on the MNGOP side for governor, Qualls is in third place behind Demuth and Mr. Pillow.

There may be a war in the Democrat Party between the Socialists and regular Democrats, but in MNGOP the war is between the purists and those who want to win. Guess what? The number of folks on the "I really want to win" side of the ledger keeps growing. That is the good news. The bad news is going up against the Minnesota Monolith (The DFL) - might be bridge too far this year.

Wait - what? After this trainwreck of a year or two the DFL has had with all this unanswered fraud stuff? They should be roadkill, laying in the ditch, just waiting for MNGOP to dispose of the carcass. Here is the long and the short of it. Who really cares about all this reported fraud? MNGOP and the normals care. Many of the Democrats look at the fraud issue as an inconvenience, and not a killer. Bottom line? The Democrats will keep voting for the same clown car over and over and over again. Get ready for Governor Amy and Senator Craig.

The primary will come and go and then will start the big hubbub of the general election. Once that is over, the zombies in Minnesota will get more horrible legislation - and just take it. I guess that is the cost of doing business in this authoritarian state.

Meanwhile, more of the normals will leave this state for the freer confines of Texas, Florida, Tennessee and beyond. Wait - are you telling us that our votes will not count this year? They will - sort of. All part of living in this gulag.   

The uncertain future for many of our youth

"Where is a good place to start? Reading skills. I know - hard to believe that in this day of age, only about one out of three fourth graders are proficient in reading. Why? Screen time for one. Also, the reading and writing thing should go hand in hand. Content, style, comprehension - everything. And speech communication is important. Small group communication. I could go on and on. And all this is important BEFORE the technical skills needed to fit into this workplace with has dizzying new skills and technologies developing before our very eyes."

Here is the good news, bad news thing again. And for the young ones - please pay attention. I have addressed this issue before. I continue to do research on it, as I don't want to be labeled as a "panic merchant". But please hear me out. By the end of this decade (and that is about 3 1/2 years from now), many, many of the lower skilled jobs which we know of will be gone. Not gone as is evaporated - gone as far as being available for humans to do. And how many "knowledge" jobs will be gone? Estimates are about 15% of them. And that number is expected to grow as we enter the 2030's.

With Generative AI coming onto the scene (quickly, I may add), part of the jobs being offered will vanish into the land of automation. Work will start to look a whole lot different than anything we have seen before. With the paucity of lower skilled jobs existing in the upcoming marketplace, many futurists are holding onto a wish and a prayer that new "human type" jobs will also be in the offing. But what will these jobs look like? How can our youth train for them when they are currently undefined?

Now I am really going to set off the alarm for dark days ahead for some. In the next 1,000 days or so, our education system needs to redefine itself as teaching the future, and not the past. I know what is being taught these days and how it is being taught. Hint: Not good enough. Generative AI is being developed to "think" as good as, if not better than humans. And then there is also this. With all things being equal, a humanoid robot (and there will be millions by the end of this decade) loaded with AI can work better, longer, cheaper, and more error free than most humans. It will be hard for a young person right out of high school, tech school or college to compete with that. 

We are coming up to a Future Shock which would make Alvin Toffler turn over in his grave. Whereas Toffler was most concerned with the stress of over selection and information overload, today's stressors will be as basic as "how do I fit into this brave new world of automation and AI"? Are we late to the party in prepping our kids for this once uncertain future which is now looking very certain? Years late. We are preparing our kids and grandkids for yesterday's world, when our new world is changing almost daily. 

Where is a good place to start? Reading skills. I know - hard to believe that in this day of age, only about one out of three fourth graders are proficient in reading. Why? Screen time for one. Also, the reading and writing thing should go hand in hand. Teach more and better content, style, comprehension - everything. And speech communication is also important. Small group communication is a must. I could go on and on. And all these are important BEFORE the technical skills needed to fit into this workplace with has dizzying new skills and technologies developing before our very eyes.

Final thought. Each day, every day for the next thousand days, our kids need to be taught the right stuff in schools. No matter the grade. For crying in the beer school districts, please at least teach the basics! When my kids were in school, at dinner time (the nights I was home), I would quiz them on some basic facts (mostly stuff I remembered from high school). The correct answer got them a desert as a prize. They hated it when I did that.

But that is what our schools need to do today. Teach the right stuff and then push and challenge. The "desert" today will not be a bowl of ice cream. It will be getting a job in a new type of market which is still being defined. 

The time is now. The future is very, very close. We have no days to waste.    

No longer defeat them - now it is time to conquer them!

"The IRGC have done this to themselves. I have not even an ounce of sympathy for them. Bear them until they no longer wiggle. At the end of the day, we will have a peaceful Iran, with a non-theocratic government. We will have a team on site to ensure there will NEVER again be one fraction of an ounce of uranium on site. The Strait will operate and be as free as a bird. When that happens, the price of a gallon of gasoline should drop back to under $3/gal. Halleluiah!" 

You have to hand it to the Iranians. They are a brazen bunch. A dishonest, lying sack of (as the president would say) - scum. This is the part which still has my head spinning. They wanted an absolute cessation of hostilities, so they could honor dead IRGC members and Mullahs who were eliminated on day one of the war. We agreed. No hostilities, and not even any negotiations on the final deal. Everything went very quiet and still out of respect for the ones who never show any respect to anybody else.

And then, just like the scorpion who killed the turtle (who was trying to save the scorpion), the IRGC could behave no longer. In the midst of their "grief", they hit three innocent oil tankers with drones. Color me shocked. That was just about enough for President Trump. He unleashed his dogs of war last night. Hit over 80 targets. Tonight, there will be more. As the old football chant goes, "Hit them again - harder, harder".

Here are the facts on the ground:

1) They will NEVER give up their quest for nuclear weapons. They see having them as their key to upward mobility in the region.

2) They don't give a tinker's dam that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway. To the Iranians, this is their "lake" and should be treated as such. Their constant harassment of shipping will NEVER go away. Not so long as the IRGC exists. 

3) This is a big one. They don't give a wit about their Iranian people. For those who are not true believers in the power of the Mullahs or Islam in general, they will shoot, hang or imprison them. Period. End of story.

4) They look at negotiations as a sign of weakness. All they recognize as true power is the power which is on the battlefield. They need to be not only defeated but also conquered.

As much as our president has longed for peace with this group of savages, peace will never happen. Only conquest. And it is time, Mr. President. Take off all the rules of engagement and let our military professionals go into battle to go quick and go harsh. Beat them so bad, that when they cry "uncle", there will be no negotiations. They will sign a surrender letter. 

The IRGC have done this to themselves. I have not even an ounce of sympathy for them. Bear them until they no longer wiggle. At the end of the day, we will have a peaceful Iran, with a non-theocratic government. We will have a team on site to ensure there will NEVER again be one fraction of an ounce of uranium on site. The Strait will operate and be as free as a bird. When that happens, the price of a gallon of gasoline should drop back to under $3/gal. Halleluiah! 

 

  

Looking down from 30,000 feet...

"What is my solution? More taxes, or more tariffs? We have tried the tax thing for decades and it sucks. It stunts growth. Maybe we should have Congress authorize tariffs for a period of ten years. If managed correctly, just imagine how much money we could have in our coffers. Just imagine how much of our debt could be paid off. Or - we could do nothing and await the level of $50T in our national debt. Knowing us - we will do the later."

Every now and again, it is very helpful to get in that imaginary airplane, fly very high, and take a 30,000-foot snapshot of our country. Things would probably look pretty good, until you looked into our underpinnings. Like - our debt. With everything else going on, looking at our debt has not been a hot topic for many of us. I know it has not for me. But holy cow! We are creeping up on $40T in national debt! If that does not give any citizen pause for concern, I don't know what would.

I remember not too long ago addressing our national debt when it reached an astounding $33T. I had no clue on how we would be able to service a debt that high. But now we are on the verge of having a debt which is $7T higher than that previous post. And many economists think we might be on the way towards a $50T debt. That could sink our ship.

I decided to do some deeper thinking on this issue. Like - why is it, no matter who is in office, the debt goes up. I did buy into the Trump tariff plan, where we could garner more funds from an external revenue service (tariffs), than internal revenue service (taxes). But, due to the bifurcation of financial viewpoints in our sharply divided Congress, Congress had SCOTUS remind POTUS that the issue of tariffs was up to Congress, and not the President. Then all those dollars raised in tariffs, some of which to be used in culling part of our national debt, went "poof" - gone. And then our national debt resumed its manic assent.

Here is my take on this very sore subject. Our biggest cause for our sky-high debt in this country is changing administrations. Look at the crap that Biden spent money on which no longer exists. Just like when Biden took over, he killed many of the things that Trump had been working on, when Trump once again took office, he killed just about everything that Biden had been working on.

And look at all the national defense items Biden DID NOT spend money on, which he should have. Like what? Look at our Navy. We are way, way under on many of our ship classes. China now has the largest navy. Thus, the Trump Administration needed to spend gobs of cash just to get us caught up. And raising taxes to pay for it, was a non-starter. It would crash the economy.

I remember when Reagan took office after Jimmy Carter. Same issue. Carter wanted to be a man of peace instead of war. Thus, he cut back on defense. When Reagan took office, our DOD was a mess. The Soviets had gone to town under Carter, and Reagan needed to jump start our military procurement. By the time Reagan's second term was done, so were the Soviets. But our debt was much higher. 

Every time this nation zigzags the economy due to a new administration, our debt goes up. Fact of life. When Trump is done, and if we get another Biden in office, it will happen all over again. Our nation jumps around way too much on priorities. And yet, we need to face the reality in the world in which we live. If America goes weak due to lack of defense spending, aggressive nations will try and fill that void. Just look back on history, how weak the US was before WWII. 

What is my solution? More taxes, or more tariffs? We have tried the tax thing for decades and it sucks. It stunts growth. Maybe we should have Congress authorize tariffs for a period of ten years. If managed correctly, just imagine how much money we could have in our coffers. Just imagine how much of our debt could be paid off. Or - we could do nothing and await the level of $50T in our national debt. Knowing us - we will do the later.     

   

It's over - now where do we go from here?

 

"It is nice to know that many of the guests who have come here from other countries to watch the World Cup have gone home with a large dose of 'American Nice'. No matter if their team had won or lost, many have been impressed with not only the greatness of this country, but also the welcoming nature of many of the Americans they have met while visiting here."

Even with the spotty weather, it was a grand and glorious 250th birthday party! Sunday was a recouperation day, and now that it is Monday, the question which should be asked is this - where do we go from here? How do we continue to make this land into a "more perfect union"? Or have we been at the apex, and the only direction left to go is down? Well - most of us don't think that will happen. And with the FIFA entertainment still going on, maybe we should defer some of the heavy thinking and introspection until that is over.

It would we be nice to get this mess in Iran taken care of, sooner rather than later. Now we are in another "pause" as the IRGC hold a weeklong funeral for the Mullah who was killed in the first moments of the war. How have things changed in Iran since we took him out? Not much. The IRGC still has the minions chanting "death to Israel" and "death to America" and "kill Trump and Netanyahu". It is still a boiling caldron over there, and we are far from over with them. This Middle East "forever war" that we tried to avoid, might have come home to roost after all.

Putting the Middle East war in Iran aside, our biggest problem at home is the rise of the DSA - Democratic Socialists of America Party. Or as President Trump calls them - Communists. Somehow, as we continue to strive to make a more perfect union, the idea of taking this country down the ruinous path to socialism does not make any sense at all. Why? Socialism and Communism have been tried many times in many places and landed with a thud. Freedom and liberty, which we cherish in this land, have NO PLACE is lands which have devolved into the chains of Socialism or Communism.

Meanwhile, despite of a do nothing Congress, the wheels of progress continue to roll on in America. Good things are happening all over this land. Just the other night I saw a YouTube on how agriculture is changing due to AI and robotics. That with a dose of new chemical technology is making sure that America continues to not only feed its people, but also many other people worldwide. And that is just one of the many things which are changing for the better this decade.

It is nice to know that many of the guests who have come here from other countries to watch the World Cup have gone home with a large dose of "American Nice". No matter if their team had won or lost, many have been impressed with not only the greatness of this country, but also the welcoming nature of many of the Americans they have met while visiting here. My feelings on that point? Well done fellow citizens! That is just a small yet very important part of making us a more perfect union.

 

Everything but the weather...

"This was not the first 4th of July which was a bust due to the weather. Not just with us, but also with many other events nationwide. But good weather or bad weather, fireworks or no fireworks, the significance of the day still stood out bravely against the weather. 250 years young. We are a great nation with a great heritage. That is something to celebrate, rain or shine, light or dark."  

When our kids were small(er), and we were going to do some fun family outdoor event, my wife and I could make sure all the random variables were under control to ensure a smooth and fun time. That is - everything except the weather. Many times, I would have to tell both daughters that dad can control many things, but not the weather. Did that help mollify the masses? Not much.

The main event, the frosting on the cake (so to speak) for our 250th birthday, was the big show on the mall, a speech by POTUS, and then the final fireworks event. Months and months in the planning, many dollars spent, and then - nada. Why? There was an unwelcomed visitor who showed up at the event. Who? Mother Nature, bringing storms, winds, lightening, and so forth. The event was postponed and then cancelled. Why? Everything was controllable - except the weather.

As for my family, the air started going out of the holiday tire in the very early hours of the fourth. I had checked the radar before we retired the evening of the 3rd, and even with that, my wife was concerned. Why? Everything, and I mean just about everything we usually keep covered and tarped was left out, unprotected. It was such a drop-dead gorgeous evening, I thought - why not? We went to bed, and everything was fine. Then it happened. Out of a sound sleep, it sounded like somebody was spraying the trailer with machine gun fire. At 2am, for a bit over an hour, it rained so hard, all other noise was blotted out.

I was the first one up in the morning. I looked outside. Everything was soaked. The other guests were coming in at 10am, so I had my work cut out. I did have some dry chairs in the shed, but still - it was a mess. But the day happened, and we made the most out of it. The kids? They always have fun, so that part was fine. But then in late afternoon, the skies got dark again. We had a quick taco meal, and my daughter, husband, kids and dog were going to get while the getting was good. They left, and no more than five minutes later the skies once again opened up. All those parties and events scheduled for the evening of the Fourth? Kaput. Why? Everything is controllable, except the weather. 

We were going to stay the night on the Fourth and come home sometime during the next day. But the rain was pounding (again), and the radar was all lit up. We saw a small opening in the storms, decided to pack up and get out of Dodge (so to speak). We loaded a few essentials in the truck and hit the road. About ten minutes into our trip, the skies once again opened up. I was once again reminded of that old Bob Dylan hit; A hard rains a going to fall. And it did - all the way home.

This was not the first 4th of July which was a bust due to the weather. Not just with us, but also with many other events nationwide. But good weather or bad weather, fireworks or no fireworks, the significance of the day still stood out bravely against the weather. 250 years young. We are a great nation with a great heritage. That is something to celebrate, rain or shine, light or dark.  

A red, white and blue type of day, to celebrate a wonderful country!

 

"Tomorrow, our national party will be in full swing. East, west, north or south - that is where the celebrations will be. Those who do not care to indulge in our national celebration, because living here is no longer what they want - I have some excellent news for them. In this bastion of freedom and liberty, the door out is always open for those who want to leave."

Wow! At long last, tomorrow, it will finally be here. But from a historical point of view, this time 250 years ago, our Declaration of Independence (DOI) was all over but the signing. The votes were taken, and mutual oaths were pledged. In the next couple of days, on the fourth of July 1976, all of these agreements were to me memorialized into a formal document called the Declaration of Independence. For many who signed it, it could have been their death wish. For if the colonies quest for independence fell flat, many would have either hung as traitors - or been shot. 

But we did win the war - our Revolutionary War. Instead of the signatories on the DOI being traitors, our first national heroes were made. But now that we won the war, and had this new country, how do we make it work? How do we keep from falling short and failing as a young nation? For the next eleven years, the young upstarts in this new country worked hard, negotiated with each other, and finally agreed with each other on a set of principles. Our Constitution was ratified in September of 1787. An agreement fitting of a more perfect union. 

During the past 250 years, this country has not had an easy ride. Thinking back, we have had many "but what if" type moments. I already mentioned what would have happened if we had not prevailed against the British in our Revolutionary War. What if we had lost the War of 1812? What if we had lost World War I? Or if we had lost World War II? How about our bloodiest war, our Civil War? What if we never really recovered from that war, and the entire nation devolved into something tribal? 

Our entire history is replete with ordinary men and women who did some extraordinary things at just the right time. Some died while serving this great nation, and others lived to go on to accomplish even greater things for the greater good. Is it over now? Can we sit back and relax? Like is the worst part over? Absolutely not! Our vigilance must be absolute, as threats to our freedom and liberty will never be over. 

We are always only one generation away from losing our Republic. And based on some of the new upstarts coming up today who eschew our way of life and want to change it to socialism - our battle for freedom and our way of life is not yet over. As Bono once said, if we lose America, there is no place left to go. In other words, this is it folks. Not just love it or leave it - but protect it or lose it.

Tomorrow, our national party will be in full swing. East, west, north or south - that is where the celebrations will be. Those who do not care to indulge in our national celebration, because living here is no longer what they want - I have some excellent news for them. In this bastion of freedom and liberty, the door out is always open for those who want to leave.

In other words, for reasons which I will never understand, some may hate it here. Good news for them - there is an old saying - "Don't let the door hit you where nature has split you". But don't worry - your place here will be taken by future lovers of liberty. And that is what makes this great nation - great.

   

Wait - what? A civil war in the Democrat Party?

 

"As the political system continues, and the Democrats duke it out with the DSA useful idiots, what should the Republicans do? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Find a comfortable chair, pop up some popcorn, and enjoy the show. The Democrat Party is going to rip itself to shreds and we had nothing to do with it." 

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Don't look now, but the worm is starting to turn. The long awaited (and sometimes feared) civil war in America might be happening right now. Only instead of red verses blue (or something like that), it is "traditional" Democrats against the new and upstart DSA (Democrat Socialist of America). And so far, this new DNC has been like a magnet, sucking up all the fruits and nuts who want to take a wrecking ball to America. I think these are the folks who Lenin referred to as "useful idiots".

Last night, I had a real juxtaposition experience. Having just watched the news earlier and seeing a couple more of these useful idiots who won primaries for a Democrat (now maybe a DSA) nomination, I watched some of the very patriotic folks at the soccer match. Trying to square that circle was very hard for me. On one hand, we have all kinds of America lovers watching the World Cup we are hosting, coupled with the wonderful 250th anniversary of our country. On the other hand, we have useful idiots bellyaching that our country is unfair and basically sucks. It is a head scratcher for sure.

But back to the brewing civil war in the Democrat party. Many of the long-term Democrats are not going to go quietly into the night. They may have swung a bit far to the left, but they are still coloring within the lines of traditional Democrats. But this new batch of "socialists" (or as the president often says - Communists), they color way outside the lines. What do they want? They want what you have. If they think you have too much, they are coming for you and your wealth. And for the recent (legal) immigrants who came here to escape socialist countries? Suprise! We now have part of the electorate who wants us to become socialists - or worse. 

How do the Republicans feel about this civil war on the other side of the fence? Many feel this may be the end of the Democrat Party and what is left on the floor will be unelectable. That would be good for our side. Here is the ray of hope for America to continue on for the normal folks. We are a nation of "mouse trap builders". Meaning, the American dream has always been to "build a better mousetrap". That is why Elon Musk, and others lead the world in innovation. And with risk, can come reward. Or failure, if you guess wrong or don't work hard enough. But our system of capitalism allows ALL the opportunity to take a risk to get a reward. The DSA offers none of that - only to confiscate what you have.

As the political system continues, and the Democrats duke it out with the DSA useful idiots, what should the Republicans do? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Find a comfortable chair, pop up some popcorn, and enjoy the show. The Democrat Party is going to rip itself to shreds and we had nothing to do with it. 

Can the SAVE Act be saved?

"For is voters out here in the hinter lands - all we can do is look eastward in disgust and shake our heads. The clown car is alive and well in Washington DC. What can fix Washington? I don't know - maybe an asteroid?"

If the question were asked, "How well does Washington DC work these days?", the answer for most folks would be very simple - it does not. The most glaring example of this clown car in action, is the SAVE Act. A very simple piece of legislation which only does one thing - requires a valid ID (which shows proof of citizenship) prior to voting. Since it is illegal for people who are not citizens to vote in our national elections, this bill should be a real "duh!".

Some say this is an 80/20 issue. Others say it is much higher than that, maybe even a 90/10 issue. It cuts across both parties as well as many of the demographics. So, what then, is the problem? This should have been "falling off the log" easy. But it is not. It has become so hard to get one or maybe two Senate Democrats to vote for this simple bill, that Trump even threatened to hold up another simple bill (the easy of mortgage bill) until this one was signed. Even that did not work.

Is there fraud in our election system? I don't know - is there fraud in any government system? Trick question, as we ALL know the system is ripe with fraud. To give people confidence that our voting system is pure, it would not hurt to have some additional guard rails in it, such as the SAVE Act. Otherwise, the specter of possible cheating will be present every two years. The SAVE Act could diminish any unfounded charges of illegal voting. Not totally stop it but diminish those charges.

What I don't understand is the allegations that some on the left is using on why the SAVE Act is unfair. Things like - 30 million women, who are too clueless to get a valid ID, would be "disenfranchised". What - really? That is worse than a canard. Worse than gaslighting. It is a lie. Plus, it is insulting to American women. I have not heard one person of merit agree with that crap. They have said this argument is nothing but hogwash (or worse).

Rather than work on some tougher issues, Donald Trump has used a lot of time and energy to get this thing through the Senate. It has basically killed the career of Leader Thune. It has made the Senate look so inept, that the House Republicans are calling for the repeal of the 17th Amendment. 

For is voters out here in the hinter lands - all we can do is look eastward in disgust and shake our heads. The clown car is alive and well in Washington DC. What can fix Washington? I don't know - maybe an asteroid?